EUROFOUND - European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

12/18/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 12/18/2024 05:58

Migration and mobility unpacked

Migration and mobility unpacked

18 December 2024

Migration means movement. When it comes to the movement of people, however, migration can have many meanings.

Migration can refer to the rights that certain people have to move freely within and outside of the territory of the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland.

Migration can also mean the movement of 'third country nationals' into and within the EU for a wide variety of reasons - work, study, family, protection - all of which are governed by different sets of rules and regulations.

Whatever the context, migration is a multifaceted and emotive phenomenon and, due to its complexity, also often a subject prone to misinformation - the communication of incorrect or misleading information. Moreover, it can be the target of disinformation - the use of concerted efforts to exploit uncertainty in order to fuel tensions and discontent.

So what is the reality?

Migration and mobility statistics

Nearly 70% of people overestimate the real share of immigrants in the population.

So what are the facts?

There are 448.8 million people living in the EU, 6.1% of whom are non-EU citizens (27.3 million). The main motivating factors for non-EU citizens moving to the EU are work (21%) and family reasons (34%). These and other relevant issues pertaining to migration and mobility are covered in research published by Eurofound on human capital and social cohesion.

While the employment rate of working-age non-EU citizens is lower than that of EU citizens who are working in their EU country of origin ('nationals') (62% vs 75% in 2022), a higher share of non-EU citizens work in 'essential services', providing food, care, cleaning and housekeeping services and thus making a significant contribution to the smooth functioning of our society.

Approximately 10 million people (almost 2% of the EU's population) are EU citizens who live in a country they are not from. The main motivating factors for these intra EU movers (EU mobile citizens) are work (47%) and family reasons (38%). Among those moving for work, 25% had a job already lined up before migrating while 22% did not; 5% moved for education and training purposes and 0.4% moved for retirement reasons.

At 77%, the rate of employment among these intra EU movers is higher than that of EU nationals (75%) - and interestingly, their unemployment rate is also slightly higher (7% for EU movers versus 5% for nationals).

Overall, EU citizens - whether in their country of origin or in another EU Member State - have a higher rate of employment in the EU than non-EU citizens, while the latter tend to be over-represented in certain sectors, including working in essential services.

Get the facts:

Immigration and integration

Only 38% of Europeans think they are well informed about the immigration and integration of third-country nationals. And although nearly 70% believe that actively promoting the integration of immigrants is a necessary investment for their country, people are split on whether or not integration efforts are actually successful.

So are they?

By November 2023, in the wake of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, 4.2 million displaced Ukrainians had registered under the EU's Temporary Protection Directive. This provided them with residence permits, access to the labour market and housing, medical assistance, and access to education for children. Data from sources such as Eurostat and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees show that most of the displaced Ukrainians in the EU are women and children (around 75%). Almost 70% of the children are under 13 years of age. Most of the adults are highly educated and the majority of the working-age adults are women (around 60% in almost all Member States).

Eurofound research shows that Ukrainian refugees' integration into the labour market has been generally positive. In a short space of time, employment rates have reached between 10% and over 50% across EU Member States. Moreover, this rate looks set to increase.

The fact is that not only did a majority of Ukrainians aged 18+ look for a job (62%) but, out of them, 66% had already been employed in the 10 host countries examined by early autumn 2022.

Evidence-based information:

Social support

78% of Europeans think that for integration to be successful it is important that immigrants contribute to the welfare system through paying taxes.

Freedom of movement across Member States is one of the core values of the EU. There is, however, a heated debate about the impact of the rising inflow of mobile citizens on their public services.

Eurofound's earlier research on the social dimension of intra-EU mobility explored the overall take-up of welfare benefits and public services by the EU's newest citizens - people from the 10 countries that joined the EU in 2004 - in host countries. The report revealed that citizens from these countries made a positive fiscal contribution overall to host countries' economies. It also showed that their overall take-up of benefits was in fact lower than that of the native population, and significantly so in the case of social housing and pensions. The only benefits that EU mobile workers tend to claim more than the native population are employment-related benefits (unemployment and in-work benefit), highlighting the precarious nature of employment for some incoming EU workers.

The fact is EU mobile workers generally make a positive fiscal contribution to host countries.

The situation is somewhat different when it comes to people benefiting from international protection or another basis that allows them to remain in the EU. People seeking asylum, for instance, may not have the same rights or the same access to labour markets as other groups. Ukrainian refugees in the EU also face a number of barriers to participation in the labour market, which may lead to the need for some degree of social protection.

While Ukrainian refugees have relatively high rates of employment, the prevalence of temporary jobs, inadequate childcare and housing facilities can leave them vulnerable to fluctuations in the job market and at times therefore in need of social protection coverage.

Research shows that Ukrainian refugees' employment rates vary by country and a lack of language knowledge is the main labour market barrier. The second most prominent obstacle is that these workers can only find irregular work (23%), with many Ukrainians working in sectors where temporary jobs dominate, such as tourism, hospitality and construction. In many cases, they are overqualified for the jobs. The income earned by refugees is therefore unstable, leading to a reliance on social assistance. This renders them vulnerable to fluctuations in the job market. Lack of availability of accessible childcare, reflected in low enrolment rates (ranging between 42% and 71%), is another important obstacle, especially considering the predominance of women with children among Ukrainian refugees.

The most recent research into the social impact of Ukrainian refugees highlights the fact that mainstream provision for welfare and services has also not necessarily been adjusted to their particular needs. For example, the readiness to accept a job as an eligibility condition for benefits may not be appropriate where displaced Ukrainians are not adequately prepared for labour market access or cannot access childcare in the case of the larger number of women involved. In addition, displaced people may lose entitlements to things that they still need even after getting a job (owing to an unstable income or housing situation), which contributes to a lack of effective labour market integration.

How can immigration policy help to shore up labour shortages?

As mentioned above, migration is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon. And one important aspect to be considered is the relationship between migration, mobility and labour. Today's labour market is calling out for workers, be they EU citizens in their country of origin or another EU Member State, or third-country nationals currently working inside or outside the EU. Unemployment is at an all-time low and our ageing population demographic means there are fewer workers available. According to the Employment and social developments in Europe report, the working-age population is expected to shrink by 1.3% (3.7 million people) by 2030 compared to 2022 (285 million people), and by 9.9% (28.3 million people) by 2050. But this ageing population trend is also driving growing employment opportunities in sectors such as health and care - but not only. The digitalisation and green transitions are revealing skills mismatches resulting in restructuring and a shift in the skills required. Given the motivating factors attracting third-country nationals to the EU, this opens up labour market opportunities but also requires policy engagement to facilitate these transitions.

Indeed, the issue facing most Member States today is labour shortages where countries are struggling to meet their labour and skills requirements. Labour shortages in the EU are limiting production and service delivery in many sectors and the fight for talent is particularly acute in countries such as Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Germany and the Netherlands. The number of companies identifying labour shortages as a factor limiting production peaked in late Q3 of 2022. From early 2023 it followed a downward trajectory but remains above pandemic levels. In Q1 of 2024, around 28% of businesses in construction and services point to labour shortages as a factor limiting production. This figure stands at 23% for manufacturing. As drivers of these shortages vary by sector, occupation and region, research shows that measures to address them must respond in different ways: developing skills, making certain sectors and occupations more attractive, matching supply and demand more effectively, improving job quality but also, importantly, activating underutilised labour.

Access to labour and the right skills is clearly a significant challenge for improving European competitiveness in the coming years. This can be addressed by facilitating EU mobile citizens and third-country nationals' access to the labour market. With growing attention to the 'freedom to stay' to combat regional inequalities, brain drains and labour shortages, as proposed in Enrico Letta's report Much more than a market, the effective use of freedom of movement at EU level still remains an important solution to address labour shortages. Another is managed third-country migration.

In December 2023, the EU agreed on a new Pact on Migration and Asylum. The pact lists many measures that aim to reform how the EU regulates and responds to migration and asylum applications; it also includes measures aimed at making the system work more efficiently. The pact, coupled with the proposal for an EU Talent Pool, can address labour shortages by enabling more people to join the labour market. It can also attract workers to Europe by simplifying the process for third-country nationals who wish to work in Europe and ensuring fair working conditions for them. Reducing the mismatch between the qualifications of third-country migrants and the jobs performed and ensuring their effective integration is a big part of the response.

Policymakers are fully aware, however, that migration alone is not the solution to labour market shortages and migration policy cannot be linked solely to the needs of the labour market - a multifaceted approach to address this multifaceted issue is required. <_o3a_p>

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