Our the deputy director of CReAM Prof. Tommaso Frattini (University of Milan) spoke to Radio France Internationale (RFI) about the findings of our latest CReAM report, Employment of Immigrants in the European Union: Progress, Persistent Gaps, and Untapped Potential. The segment was reported by Nathanaël Vittrant for RFI.
As RFI reports, immigrant employment in the EU has reached a record high. More than 68% of people living in a European country other than the one where they were born are now employed, a record according to the study, and intra-EU migrants are less affected by unemployment than local populations. The strongest progress has been among non-EU migrants: two-thirds are now integrated into the labour market, compared with under 60% in 2017.
“Immigrants are adapting more and more to the needs of the European labour market,” Frattini explained to RFI. “They are more flexible, and can more easily move to the countries or regions that need their labour.”
The report also highlights persistent gaps. Women from outside the EU remain the least well integrated into the labour market. As Frattini noted, one explanation is that many arrive through family reunification, joining a partner already working in Europe, with skills that are less matched to local demand. This, he suggested, is an untapped potential: if Europe can integrate this group better, it could help address labour shortages. The report points to a second missed opportunity as well: the most highly educated immigrants rarely find work matching their level of education, which is why improving the recognition of foreign qualifications is among the paths it identifies.
You can listen to the full interview in French below.
