In 2019 in the European Union, foreign-born persons aged 20-64 had higher unemployment rates than native-born. Finding work was especially difficult for persons born outside the EU. Their unemployment rate was more than twice that of the native-born population (12.3% vs. 6.0%). The rate for persons born elsewhere in the EU (other than born in the reporting Member State) stood at 7.3%.
Data source: lfsa_urgacob
Unemployment rate for non-EU-born persons: lowest in Czechia, highest in Greece
Across the majority of EU Member States for which data are available for 2019, the unemployment rates for persons born outside the EU were higher than those for native-born. The exceptions were Cyprus and Lithuania, which recorded higher unemployment rates for the native-born population, and Croatia, which recorded the same unemployment rates for the native-born and for persons born outside the EU.
The lowest unemployment rates for persons born outside the EU were recorded in Czechia (2.5%), Malta (4.2%), Lithuania (5.2%), Poland (5.5%), Estonia and Slovenia (both 6.1%). At the other end of the scale, the highest unemployment rates for non-EU-born persons were observed in Greece (29.0%), followed by Spain (19.9%), Sweden (17.3%), France (14.7%) and Belgium (13.8%).
Unemployment rate for persons born in a different EU Member State: lowest in Malta, highest in Greece
Among EU Member States in 2019, the unemployment rates for persons born in a different EU Member State were generally higher than the rates among the native-born population; this was the case for the majority of Member States. However, Cyprus, Malta and Croatia did not follow this pattern.
Malta registered the lowest unemployment rate for persons born in a different EU Member State (2.1%), followed by Czechia (3.2%), Germany (3.6%) and the Netherlands (3.7%). In contrast, the highest rates were recorded in Greece (25.3%), Spain (15.1%) and Italy (13.4%).
For the native-born population, the lowest unemployment rate was in 2019 in Czechia (1.9%), while the highest rate was in Greece (16.2%).
For more information, see the Statistics Explained article Migrant integration statistics - labour market indicators.
Note: The European Union (EU) includes 27 EU Member States. The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020. Further information is published here.
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