Eurofound’s report draws the main trends regarding legal immigration in the EU.
In the past decades, the proportion of migrant workers in the labour force has grown considerably in EU countries. However, in most these countries, migrant workers have higher unemployment rates and, when in employment, tend to be segregated in unskilled occupations and exposed to higher risks of over-qualification. Moreover, they experience considerable job insecurity, and the sectors and occupations where they are employed are characterized by less advantageous working conditions. Overall, women and young migrants are particularly vulnerable.
Although there is increasing awareness of the crucial role played by migrant workers in the economic growth of countries, greater attention needs to be paid to their employment and working conditions.
General objective of the report
The purpose the report is to investigate the working and employment conditions of migrant workers in the EU. Migrant workers include both EU citizens and non-EU citizens moving from their country of origin to one of the EU countries covered by this study. More specifically, the report aims to compare the working and employment conditions of EU citizens with non-EU citizens moving from their country of origin to an EU country.
Structure of the report
The report is organised in four main chapters:
Empirical analysis of the whole migrant population
General statistics concerning migrant workers’ employment and working conditions.
This part defines several sources of inequality. Apart from being segregated into low-paid jobs that offer limited opportunities for upward mobility,immigrants usually take up the most hazardous and unhealthy of these unskilled jobs. Data on exposure to risks and accidents at work in relation to migrants are of some concern. This situation is quite alarming, all the more since, migrant workers are often weakly represented by trade unions.
Main findings and suggestions for political options.
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