DESCRIPTORS *Asian Americans; *Employment Opportunities;

This report reviews existing research on the labor force participation and employment of Southeast Asian refugees, in the context of an apparent paradox between reports of positive labor force participation and high rates of public assistance usage by refugees. Following an introduction, Part II reviews the available evidence on general labor force activities of Southeast Asian refugees as compared with the general U.S. population. Part III focuses on factors which seem most influential in predicting who enters the labor force, including age, sex ioreign education, knowledge of English upon arrival, and timing of arrival in the United States. Parts IV and V consider whether the type of sponsorship which a refugee is assisted influences labor force activity, and analyse refugee ethnic differences and how they affect labor force participation. Section VI examines the methods used by refugees to search for and secure jobs. Section VII describes what kinds of jobs they find and what job conditions are like for them, and also comments on their involvement in the "underground economy." It is concluded that the high rate of welfare particIpatitn does not appear to be a result of lack of motivation to work, but rather of the refugees ' difficulty in obtaining adequately remunerative work. (CG) *************************************************f.********************* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document