Foreign-born people and their descendants - labour market indicators
Data extracted on 3 June 2024.
Planned article update: 12 June 2025.
Highlights
In the EU, the employment rate in 2023 for native-born persons with one foreign-born parent was 76.9%. This rate was lower for native-born persons with two foreign-born parents (74.0%) and for foreign-born persons (69.9%).
In the EU, the unemployment rate in 2023 for native-born persons with one foreign-born parent was 5.8%. This rate was higher for native-born persons with two foreign-born parents (7.3%) and for foreign-born persons (9.3%).
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(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_arganedm) and (lfsa_erganedm) and (lfsa_urganedm)
This article is one of a set of statistical articles concerning foreign-born people and their immediate descendants in the EU. This article forms part of an online publication Foreign-born people and their descendants. It presents statistics on the labour market participation of persons usually residing in private households in the European Union (EU), in its individual EU countries, as well as three EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland). The main focus is on people aged 20-64 years and relates to three labour market indicators: labour force participation rate, employment and unemployment rates.
Persons living in private households can be categorised in terms of their migration status:
- native-born with two native-born parents,
- native-born persons with at least one foreign-born parent,
- native-born persons with one foreign-born parent,
- native-born persons with two foreign-born parents,
- foreign-born persons.
An article on the main characteristics of people by migration status (based on the EU-LFS data) provides information on the relative size of these categories.
Full article
Overview
The EU labour force survey (EU-LFS) is the source of data for this article. For analyses of the labour market, the broadest age range typically used is 15–74 years. The main focus of this article is the age group 20–64 years. This age group is of particular interest as it is the focus for employment analyses in the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021–2027.
Three labour market indicators are presented in this article: labour force participation rate, employment rate and unemployment rate.
- The labour force participation rate is the proportion of people in the labour force (employed or unemployed) as a percentage of the total population.
- The employment rate is the number of employed persons (someone working as an employee, self-employed or contributing family workers) as a percentage of the total population.
- The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons as a percentage of the labour force.
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_arganedm) and (lfsa_erganedm) and (lfsa_urganedm)
In the EU, the labour force participation and employment rates of native-born persons with one foreign-born parent were marginally higher in 2023 than those of native-born persons with two native-born parents. For native-born persons with two foreign-born parents, these rates were somewhat lower. They were lower still for foreign-born persons.
The labour force participation rate ranged from 81.7 % among native-born persons with one foreign-born parent to 77.1 % for foreign-born persons.
The employment rate ranged from 76.9 % among native-born persons with one foreign-born parent to 69.9 % for foreign-born persons.
Native-born persons with two native-born parents had the lowest unemployment rate (5.0 %) in 2023 when analysed by migration status. The rates for native-born persons with one or two foreign-born parents were somewhat higher, at 5.8 % and 7.3 % respectively. For foreign-born persons, the unemployment rate was notably higher, at 9.3 %.
Table 1 presents data for the three principal labour market indicators and the same four categories of migration status as in Figure 1. Each of these indicators is analysed in more detail in the three main sections of this article.
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(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_arganedm) and (lfsa_erganedm) and (lfsa_urganedm)
Labour force participation rates
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Source: Eurostat (lfsa_arganedm)
Figure 2 presents the labour force participation rates of foreign-born persons and their descendants and the corresponding rate for native-born persons with two native-born parents in all EU countries and three EFTA countries in 2023 for persons aged 20-64 years.
Sweden had the highest labour force participation rate in 2023 for native-born persons with two native-born parents (89.1 %) and Italy the lowest rate (71.6 %). Sweden also recorded the smallest integration gap between the four groups in terms of percentage point (pp) with 2.4 pp, whereas Poland had the highest gap (19.0 pp), with the highest rates for foreign-born persons and the lowest for native-born persons with two foreign-born parents.
The labour force participation rates recorded for native-born persons with one foreign-born parent ranged between 87.2 % in Malta and 66.7 % in Greece, whereas for native-born persons with two foreign-born parents the range was from 91.0 % in Finland to 56.1 % in Italy.
For foreign-born persons, Malta had the highest labour force participation rate of 90.1 %, while Bulgaria recorded the lowest rate (70.5 %).
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Source: Eurostat (lfsa_arganedm)
Figure 3 presents an analysis of the labour force participation rates of foreign-born persons and their descendants and the corresponding rate for native-born persons with two native-born parents for the EU for 2023, combining sex and educational attainment. The focus remains on persons aged 20-64 years.
For native-born males with one foreign-born parent, labour force participation rates by education level were quite similar to those for native-born males with two native-born parents. The largest difference was for males having completed, at most, upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education. For females, the situation was similar, but with a notably higher activity rate for those with, at most, lower secondary education.
For native-born persons with two foreign-born parents, a broadly similar pattern was observed as for native-born persons with one foreign-born parent.
For foreign-born persons, labour force participation rates also increased with more education but to a lesser extent than in the other three groups, making the integration gap positive for those with low educational attainment and negative for those with tertiary education. This was observed for both males and for females.
Employment rates
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Source: Eurostat (lfsa_erganedm)
Figure 4 presents the employment rates of foreign-born persons and their descendants and the corresponding rate for native-born persons with two native-born parents in all EU countries and three EFTA countries in 2023 for persons aged 20-64 years.
The Netherlands and Sweden had the highest employment rates in 2023 for native-born persons with two native-born parents with 86.5 % and 86.1 % respectively, whereas Italy had the lowest rate (66.6 %). Italy also recorded the highest gap between the four groups (21.0 pp), whereas the smallest integration gap was observed in Lithuania (3.9 pp).
The employment rates recorded for native-born persons with one foreign-born parent ranged between 84.3 % in the Netherlands and 52.1 % in Greece, whereas for native-born persons with two foreign-born parents the range was from 84.6 % in Finland to 45.6 % in Italy.
For foreign-born persons, Malta had the highest employment rate of 86.7 %, while Greece recorded the lowest rate (63.4 %).
A large majority of EU countries recorded lower employment rates in 2023 for native-born persons with one foreign-born parent than for those with two native-born parents. The ones who recorded higher rates for native-born persons with one foreign-born parent were Greece, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal and Finland.
When comparing employment rates between foreign-born persons and native-born persons with two native-born parents the situation was a more mixed. In 2023, there were nine EU countries with a higher employment rate for foreign-born persons. The largest difference (8.0 pp) was observed in Malta. The remaining 18 EU countries had lower employment rates for foreign-born persons, with differences in excess of 10 pp in Sweden, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Germany.
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Source: Eurostat (lfsa_erganedm)
Figure 5 presents an analysis of the employment rates of foreign-born persons and their descendants and the corresponding rate for native-born persons with two native-born parents for the EU for 2023, combining sex and educational attainment. The focus remains on persons aged 20-64 years.
For native-born males with one foreign-born parent, employment rates were lower than those for native-born males with two native-born parents, regardless of education level. The employment rate was higher for native-born females with one foreign-born parent that had, at most, lower secondary education. For females with medium or high education levels, employment rates were similar for both categories of migration status.
For native-born persons with two foreign-born parents, a similar pattern was observed as for native-born persons with one foreign-born parent.
For foreign-born persons, employment rates also increased with more education but to a lesser extent than in the other three groups, making the integration gap positive for those with low educational attainment and negative for those with tertiary education. This was observed for both males and females.
Unemployment rates
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Source: Eurostat (lfsa_urganedm)
Figure 6 presents the unemployment rates of foreign-born persons and their descendants and the corresponding rate for native-born persons with two native-born parents in all EU countries and three EFTA countries in 2023 for persons aged 20-64 years.
Italy and Spain had the highest unemployment rates in 2023 for native-born persons with two native-born parents with 10.4 % for both countries, whereas Malta had the lowest rate (2.0 %). Italy and Spain also had the highest gaps between the four groups (12.1 pp and 11.9 pp respectively). In both countries native-born persons with two foreign-born parents had the highest unemployment rates and native-born persons with two native-born parents had the lowest unemployment rates. The smallest gap was recorded in Latvia (2.2 pp).
The unemployment rates for native-born persons with one foreign-born parent ranged between 22.2 % in Greece and 2.9 % in Germany. Germany also had the lowest rate (4.2 %) for native-born persons with two foreign-born parents, while the highest rate (22.3 %) was recorded in Spain.
All EU countries for which reliable data are available except for Greece and Latvia recorded lower unemployment rates in 2023 for native-born persons with one foreign-born parent than for native-born persons with two native-born parents.
For foreign-born persons, Spain had the highest unemployment rate of 16.2 %, while Hungary recorded the lowest rate (3.3 %). All EU countries for which reliable data are available except for Hungary recorded higher unemployment rates for foreign-born persons than for native-born persons with two native-born parents. Greece, Spain and Sweden recorded unemployment rates of more than 14 % for foreign-born persons, which were considerably higher than the rates for native-born persons with two native-born parents. The largest gap for foreign-born persons was observed in Sweden, where the unemployment rate for foreign-born persons was 10.8 pp above that for native-born persons with two native-born parents.
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Source: Eurostat (lfsa_urganedm)
Figure 7 presents an analysis of the unemployment rates of foreign-born persons and their descendants and the corresponding rate for native-born persons with two native-born parents for the EU for 2023, combining sex and educational attainment. The focus remains on persons aged 20-64 years.
For native-born persons with one foreign-born parent, unemployment rates by sex and education level were generally higher than those for native-born persons with two native-born parents, the one exception was for females with, at most, lower secondary education.
For native-born persons with two foreign-born parents, a broadly similar pattern was observed for the ratio as for native-born persons with one foreign-born parents. For all combinations of sex and education level, the gaps were always larger for native-born persons with two foreign-born parents than for native-born persons with one foreign-born parent.
For foreign-born persons, for all combinations of sex and educational attainment, unemployment rates by sex and education level were generally higher than those for native-born persons with two native-born parents. The observed gaps were larger for foreign-born persons than for native-born persons with one or two foreign-born parents, the only exception being for males with, at most, lower secondary education.
Youth unemployment rates
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(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_urganedm)
The final two figures in this article focus on the unemployment rate for younger people (aged 15-29 years). Across the EU, the youth unemployment rate in 2023 was 10.1 % for native-born persons with two native-born parents. This rate was somewhat higher for native-born persons with one foreign-born parent (12.2 %) and native-born persons with two foreign-born parents (12.8 %) and the highest for foreign-born persons (14.2 %).
Reliable data on youth unemployment rates for 2023 are available for all four categories of migration status for 11 EU countries (see Figure 8). In 10 of these EU countries, the lowest unemployment rates were observed for native-born persons with two native-born parents, whereas Greece had the unemployment rate for foreign-born persons on the same level than that for native-born persons with two native-born parents.
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(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_urganedm)
The lowest youth unemployment rates in 2023 in the EU were observed for native-born persons with two native-born parents for higher levels of educational attainment. Only native-born persons with one foreign-born parent had slightly lower unemployment rate than the native-born persons with two native-parents among those with, at most, lower secondary education (see Figure 9). The gaps were positive for females with one or two foreign-born parents in the lowest educational level.
Regardless of education level, for females, the highest youth unemployment rate was recorded for foreign-born persons. For males, the differences observed between the rates for foreign born persons and native-born persons with two native-born parents were typically smaller than for females.
Source data for tables and graphs
Data sources
The data presented in this article are from the EU labour force survey (EU-LFS), the largest household sample survey in the EU. The survey covers the resident population, defined as all people usually residing in private households. As such, persons living in collective households are excluded from the target population. Usual residence means the place where a person normally spends the daily period of rest, regardless of temporary absences for purposes of recreation, holidays, visits to friends and relatives, business, medical treatment or religious pilgrimage. The data for the EU are aggregated results for the 27 EU countries. For more information on the data sources used, please consult the online publication EU labour force survey.
Due to the sampling nature of the survey, some data have low reliability or are not published due to very low reliability or confidentiality. Data that are of low reliability are duly marked in the footnotes below the figures and tables.
Main indicators
The labour force participation rate is the percentage of labour force in relation to the comparable total population. Labour force includes employed and unemployed persons.
The employment rate is the percentage of employed persons in relation to the comparable total population. An employed person is someone aged 15 years and over who, during the reference week of the labour force survey, performed work – even if just for one hour a week – for pay, profit or family gain. Also included are people who were not at work but had a job or business from which they were temporarily absent due to illness, holiday, industrial dispute or education and training.
The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force. An unemployed person is defined as someone simultaneously
- aged 15 to 74 years,
- not employed during the reference week according to the definition of employed persons,
- available for work, in other words available for paid employment or self-employment before the end of the two weeks following the reference week of the labour force survey and
- actively seeking work, in other words had either carried out activities in the four-week period ending with the reference week to seek paid employment or self-employment or found a job to start within a period of at most three months from the end of the reference week.
Context
The data in this article provide information not only on foreign-born persons living in the EU but also about native-born persons with at least one foreign-born parent.
Successful integration may lead to economic and social benefits for migrants and for the society where they live. More information on the policies and legislation in force in this area can be found in an introductory article on migrant integration statistics.
Direct access to
Online publications
Methodology
- LFS ad hoc modules on migrants (mii_lfso)
- LFS series – Detailed annual survey results (ESMS metadata file – lfsa_esms)
- EU labour force survey