1 The Labour Market Integration of Immigrants - Preliminary results from OECD country studies with a focus on Sweden Götegorg October 2005 Jean-Pierre Garson Non-Member Economies and International Migration Division Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

2 Labour market integration: Some key points Over time, as immigrants pick up language, work practices, etc. of the host country, they should show labour market outcomes similar to those of comparable natives Employment rate as the key labour market integration indicator Clear need to distinguish between worker and family migration Decline in migrants’ outcomes relative to those of natives in many European OECD countries since the early 1990s Second generation –growing presence in the labour market –expectance of outcomes that are at least similar to those of natives with the same socio-economic background –“benchmark” for labour market integration

3 Percentage differences in employment rates of immigrants and natives, by years of residence, men, Except for Canada (2002)

4 Percentage differences in employment rates of immigrants and natives, by years of residence, women,

5 General observations Outcomes vary greatly among OECD countries –Different outcomes for different types of migration (labour, family, humanitarian) –Migration regimes matter, in particular: qualification structure of the migrant intake Evidence suggests problems of entry into labour market, but good wage progression once employed Importance of economic situation –new arrivals particularly affected by economic crisis –high sensitivity of immigrants’ employment rates with respect to economic situation

6 Discrimination Difficult to demonstrate, because of unobserved characteristics Need common measure of human capital –Host-country education –« Literacy » as a measures both language proficiency and « cognitive skills » « Testing » for discrimination – not allowed in all countries Discrimination certainly exists and needs to be monitored / combatted

7 The Swedish situation Types of migration –Free movement from European Economic Area (~40%) –Humanitarian + following family reunification (~55-60%) –Little non-OECD labour migration Migration regime is a policy choice No external pool of potential migrants outside the EU who understand Swedish Immigrant incidence measures –Approximately 12% of population foreign-born –Entries of foreigners at about 0.5% of total population per year Economic context –Severe economic crisis in the early to mid-1990s –Growth has resumed, but employment and participation have not fully recovered

8 Employment-population ratios of native and foreign-born in Sweden,

9 The economic crisis affected both new arrivals and long-standing residents

10 Outcomes of the “second generation” Difference in the PISA (2003) mathematics scores of natives and the second generation, children aged 15 years

11 What works? Early work experience crucial Link language acquisition with work experience Temporary employment helps to overcome information asymmetries Coaching and network-building seems to be a promising venue, but little sound empirical data Early and frequent contact with host country language crucial for educational outcomes of the second generation, which, in turn, determines later labour market success