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According to the latest European Union Labour Force Survey, immigrants in the EU are making steady gains in employment and wages, yet their economic integration remains incomplete when compared with native-born workers. The 2024 data, covering the decade from 2015, reveal that while the gap has narrowed, significant disparities persist across countries and sectors.

Background

Immigration has become a central topic in European policy debates, especially amid concerns about ageing populations, labour shortages, and the sustainability of social protection systems. Policymakers and researchers have long sought to quantify how well newcomers are assimilating into the labour market, as this has direct implications for fiscal balances, social cohesion, and economic growth. The European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) is the primary source of microdata for such analyses, providing detailed information on employment status, earnings, occupation, and sector for both native and immigrant workers across member states.

What Happened

The 2024 EU-LFS release presents a decade-long picture of immigrant integration. Key findings include:

  • Employment rates for immigrants rose from 64.2% in 2015 to 68.7% in 2024, a 4.5 percentage point increase.
  • Native employment rates grew more modestly, from 78.9% to 80.2% over the same period.
  • Average hourly earnings for immigrants increased by 12.3% between 2015 and 2024, whereas native earnings grew by 7.8%.
  • Despite these gains, immigrants’ average earnings remain 18.4% lower than those of natives in 2024.
  • Sectoral shifts show a growing share of immigrants in service occupations, particularly in hospitality and retail, while their representation in high-skilled sectors remains below 10% of the total immigrant workforce.
  • Country-level variation is pronounced: the Netherlands and Sweden exhibit the smallest employment gaps, whereas Greece and Portugal show larger disparities.

The survey also highlights that the integration trajectory differs by country of origin. Workers from former Soviet Union states and Turkey have shown faster employment gains than those from Sub-Saharan Africa, where the employment gap has widened slightly over the decade.

Market & Industry Implications

These findings have several implications for European labour markets and policy makers:

  • Labour Supply Dynamics: The modest rise in immigrant employment contributes to mitigating labour shortages in sectors such as hospitality, care, and construction, where native participation has plateaued.
  • Wage Structure: Persistent earnings gaps suggest that immigrants continue to occupy lower-wage positions, potentially affecting overall wage dispersion and consumer demand within affected regions.
  • Social Protection Systems: As immigrants become more active in the labour market, their contributions to pension and health insurance schemes are likely to increase, easing fiscal pressure on ageing populations.
  • Sectoral Growth: The concentration of immigrants in service sectors may spur growth in those industries, but the limited penetration into high-skilled fields could constrain innovation and productivity gains.

What to Watch

Key upcoming events that could influence the trajectory of immigrant integration include:

  • Release of the 2025 EU-LFS data, expected in late 2025, which will provide updated trends and allow assessment of the impact of recent migration policy changes.
  • European Commission’s forthcoming review of the EU’s Migration and Asylum Policy, scheduled for mid‑2026, which may adjust quotas and integration support mechanisms.
  • National labour market reforms in high‑gap countries such as Greece and Portugal, announced in 2024, aimed at improving access to skilled employment for immigrants.