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1
The public sector and the labour market integration
of immigrants and their childrenin the context of recent trends
Thomas LiebigInternational 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 UKImmigration into OECD countries, 1985-2006 (1985=100)
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Source: Trends in International Migration, OECD, forthcoming.
European Economic Area (excl. Germany) and Switzerland
Japan
Australia and Canada
USA
Germany
France
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
Labour migration tends to be affected strongest, impact on family and humanitarian migration is less clear cut
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%)
Evidence of return migration remains limited ...… except between some countries within the European Union
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
Country reviews for ten OECD countries (« Jobs for immigrants » (Vol. 1 and 2))
Taking a human capital perspective: How do the skills and experience of immigrants compare with
those of the native-born? Are the skills of immigrants « equivalent » to those of the native-
born who have the same formal qualification levels – and does this matter?
What means are available to immigrants to « transmit » / « communicate » their skills and experience to employers?
“Second generation” Growing presence in the labour market in many OECD countries Expectance of outcomes that are at least similar to those of the
children of natives with the same socio-economic background “Benchmark” 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 15-64 years old, 2005/2006 average (Austria: 2007/2008
average)
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
Men Women
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, 15-65 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 15-64 at arrival)
6 months after arrival
42 months after arrival
Employer nominated 98 95
Skilled points tested 65 88
Spouse & prospective marriage
36 51
Refugee 6 48
All migrants (including accompanying family)
34 58
Native-born 75 76
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
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Native-born Non-EU-15 foreign-born,qualif ications obtained in Belgium
Non-EU-15 foreign-born,qualif ications obtained abroad
Low Medium High
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
Leverage for governments to aid immigrants‘ labour market integration
The public sector may act as a role model for the private sector
Increasing the visibility of immigrants in daily life
Contribution to enhancing the understanding of immigrants‘ needs by public institutions
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, 15-64 years old, 2005/2006
III. Immigrants in the public sector
13
The public sector is not a typical « entry sector » for immigrants
Qualification requirements are often higher in the public administration, and immigrants tend to have lower education levels on average
Note that decisions on the recognition of foreign qualifications are often binding for the public sector (only)
Having the host country nationality is a requirement for some occupations in the public sector
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 FranceEmployment of children of immigrants in the public administration as a % of total employment, selected OECD countries, 20-29 years old, around 2007
III. Immigrants in the public sector
15
Netherlands Longstanding monitoring of immigrants’ employment in the public sector,
with clear targets
Diversity concept of the Dutch police, including a « Pre-police academy »
Additional activities at the municipal level
Belgium Action plan for diversity in the federal public service
Recruitment simulation trainings
Expansion of anonymous CVs
Norway State agencies are required to set targets for the recruitment of
immigrants, and to take active measures to meet them
New pilot on moderate affirmative action in the public sector
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, 15-39 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
Immigrants tend to be disproportionately affected by the economic downturn
This can have lasting adverse consequences, especially on recent arrivals
Past crises have often been at the roots of the unfavourable labour market outcomes of immigrants in many European OECD countries
The situation is particularly worrisome since the crisis was preceeded by a period of large immigration flows
It is thus important that the labour market integration of immigrants remains a priority for goverments
Concluding remarks
IV. Conclusions
18
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
There are many reasons why immigrants themselves are underrepresented in the public sector, but this is less clear for their native-born children
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