1 The public sector and the labour market integration of immigrants and their children in the context of recent trends Thomas Liebig International Migration Division Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD Athens, 3 November 2009

2 Overview I.Introduction: Recent trends in international migration II.Key issues in the labour market integration of immigrants III. Integration of immigrants and their children into the public sector IV. Conclusions

3 Prior to the crisis, immigration had grown in the OECD area, and this was partly attributable to increased labour migration, particularly to Southern Europe, Ireland and the UK Immigration into OECD countries, (1985=100) I. Introduction

4 Immigration by entry category, standardised definition, 2007 Despite the recent increase in labour migration, accompanying family and family reunification still make up the bulk of permanent-type migration in most OECD countries I. Introduction

5 Impact of the crisis on migration flows r Labour migration tends to be affected strongest, impact on family and humanitarian migration is less clear cut r Even if it is still too early to see significant changes in migration flows in most countries… … some countries show signs of a decline in temporary labour migration (e.g. Australia: -20% in the first four months of 2009; USA) … a strong decline in labour migration from the new EU member countries is observed (e.g. UK, IR : >-50%) r Evidence of return migration remains limited... … except between some countries within the European Union r Not all labour needs disappear during a downturn and even in the short term, it is unlikely that labour migration will entirely cease I. Introduction

6 r Country reviews for ten OECD countries (« Jobs for immigrants » (Vol. 1 and 2)) r Taking a human capital perspective: l How do the skills and experience of immigrants compare with those of the native-born? l Are the skills of immigrants « equivalent » to those of the native-born who have the same formal qualification levels – and does this matter? l What means are available to immigrants to « transmit » / « communicate » their skills and experience to employers? r “Second generation” l Growing presence in the labour market in many OECD countries l Expectance of outcomes that are at least similar to those of the children of natives with the same socio-economic background “B enchmark ” for labour market integration The OECD reviews on the labour market integration of immigrants and their children II. Labour market integration: key issues

7 Lower employment of immigrants (particularly women) in most OECD countries - but great variation of outcomes - Percentage point differences in the employment/population ratios between native and foreign-born years old, 2005/2006 average (Austria: 2007/2008 average) Employment rate lower for immigrants Employment rate higher for immigrants II. Key issues

8 Unemployment rate (national definition) of native Dutch and of immigrants and their children, years old II. Key issues Migrants’ outcomes are more sensitive to economic conditions…

9 Employment/population ratios by migration category 6 months and 42 months after arrival, principal applicants, Australia (arrival around 1995, aged at arrival) 6 months after arrival42 months after arrival Employer nominated9895 Skilled points tested6588 Spouse & prospective marriage 3651 Refugee648 All migrants (including accompanying family) 3458 Native-born7576 The composition of the migrant intake matters, but outcomes tend to converge somewhat over time II. Key issues

10 Employment/population ratios by qualification level in Belgium, 15-64, women, 2001 Foreign qualifications acquired in non-OECD countries are largely discounted on the labour market The unfavourable results are partly attributable to a lack of linguistic competence and to non-equivalence of degrees II. Key issues

11 r Leverage for governments to aid immigrants‘ labour market integration r The public sector may act as a role model for the private sector r Increasing the visibility of immigrants in daily life r Contribution to enhancing the understanding of immigrants‘ needs by public institutions r Immigrants who are employed in the public sector may become a role model for others Employment of migrants and their children in the public sector III. Immigrants in the public sector

12 When employed, immigrants are underrepresented in the public sector Employment of foreign-born in the public administration in selected OECD countries, years old, 2005/2006 III. Immigrants in the public sector

13 r The public sector is not a typical « entry sector » for immigrants r Qualification requirements are often higher in the public administration, and immigrants tend to have lower education levels on average l Note that decisions on the recognition of foreign qualifications are often binding for the public sector (only) r Having the host country nationality is a requirement for some occupations in the public sector l But the relative importance of such occupations is quite small in most countries Possible explanations for the underrepresentation of immigrants in the public sector III. Immigrants in the public sector

14 Native-born children of immigrants are underrepresented in the public sector in Germany and France Employment of children of immigrants in the public administration as a % of total employment, selected OECD countries, years old, around 2007 III. Immigrants in the public sector

15 r Netherlands l Longstanding monitoring of immigrants’ employment in the public sector, with clear targets l Diversity concept of the Dutch police, including a « Pre-police academy » l Additional activities at the municipal level r Belgium l Action plan for diversity in the federal public service l Recruitment simulation trainings l Expansion of anonymous CVs r Norway l State agencies are required to set targets for the recruitment of immigrants, and to take active measures to meet them l New pilot on moderate affirmative action in the public sector l Additional actions at the municipal level and for state-owned enterprises Good practices in European OECD countries III. Immigrants in the public sector

16 In the Netherlands, the public sector has compensated for a decline in private sector employment for the children of immigrants Changes (in percentage points) in public and private sector employment between 2001/2002 and 2005/2006, year old In Norway, 11% growth in the employment of already resident immigrants from non-OECD countries in the public sector between 2002 and 2007 III. Immigrants in the public sector

17 r Immigrants tend to be disproportionately affected by the economic downturn r This can have lasting adverse consequences, especially on recent arrivals r Past crises have often been at the roots of the unfavourable labour market outcomes of immigrants in many European OECD countries r The situation is particularly worrisome since the crisis was preceeded by a period of large immigration flows r It is thus important that the labour market integration of immigrants remains a priority for goverments Concluding remarks IV. Conclusions

18 r Employment in the public sector should be a key element in overall integration policy, since it has many beneficial side effects for the integration of immigrants r There are many reasons why immigrants themselves are underrepresented in the public sector, but this is less clear for their native-born children r Experiences from several OECD countries indicate that active policies targeted at employment in the public sector can have beneficial effects Concluding remarks (cont.) IV. Conclusions

19 Thank you for your attention! For further information on the OECD's work on migration and the integration of immigrants and their children: