This article uses data from the Day Labor Survey (DLS)3 to explore how
disadvantage theory explains the participation of immigrant workers in day
labor. The article contributes to a better understanding of day labor, the variety
of workers of this market, and the nature of their participation in it. After briefly
discussing day-labor work, I discuss in detail disadvantage theory and its utility
for explaining unequal rates of participation in entrepreneurial and other forms
of self-employment. I then describe the research and data used to explore day
labor. I next examine key demographic, social, and labor-market characteristics
of this labor exchange, paying particular attention to four factors that explain
Latino immigrant participation in day labor, including important labor-market
advantages (that is, experience and flexibility) that compel immigrants to