Despite the job market growing over the last year, some Chicago Chinatown residents feel forced to work in the service industry due to their language barrier.
By Charles Tharpe
The entrance of the (CASL) Chinese American Service League, CASL hosts a job program for Chinatown residents that also features a Culinary Training Program, on Monday in Chicago. (Charles Tharpe/Medill)
Some Chinatown residents have been working in the service and hospitality industry in Chicago because they say they are the only jobs that are available.
Immigrants are working in service jobs until they learn more English, in which, they’ll apply for other jobs with different career paths.
Kathy Tang, a kitchen cook, said that when she first started working in Chicago: she didn’t think her English was good, so she joined an ESL (English as Second Language) class for about two years.
“I think when I find a job, my challenge is learn more skill,” Tang said. “And learn more English, which will get more jobs.”
Tang’s first language is Cantonese, a dialect of Chinese.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Chicago’s metropolitan area seen the largest job gain of the employment market in leisure and hospitality with 101,700 jobs in May 2021. In 2019, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 15.8% of Asian Americans worked in the Service industry.
Grace Jin, the adult ESL transition coordinator at the Pui Tak center, has been assisting adult students for years. Kathy Tang was one of her students.
“Even though it’s a little bit better than last year, because many of our ESL students work in restaurant, in the hospitality industry, in nail salons, in tourism,” Jin said. “The businesses are not totally recovered, and they still have difficulty to find good jobs.”
Jin is hosting a webinar on August 26 for Chinatown residents called, “How to Effectively Find a Job After the Pandemic.” She hopes to help bridge the unemployment gap in the community.
According to Jin, some ESL adults have difficulty navigating online job applications. She said that prior to the pandemic, residents were able to attend job fairs with translators but now everything is virtual.
“Some students have difficulty with technology,” Jin said. “I think one important thing to simplify is the application process.”
Tiffany Man, the youth program coordinator at the Pui Tak Center, said that working at restaurants isn’t a choice for residents but a necessity.
“The job placement. Whatever jobs they are getting, it definitely makes sense that people are going into the food industry, restaurants or the service industry,” Man said. “Some people might be talented, maybe they want to be a chef. But a lot of the cases, is maybe they don’t have a choice.”
Man said that the cycle of Chinatown residents working in restaurants can harm them financially in the long run.
“There are many situations where the younger one (the child) is competing for the same job as their parent,” Man said. “Now with that amount of money, are you okay?”