Data extracted: 1 July 2025
Planned article update: June 2026.
Highlights
Between 2014 and 2024, non-EU citizens consistently had the highest share of employees aged 20-64 with a contract of limited duration, peaking at 27.1% in 2018 before falling to 22.5% in 2024. Over the same period, the share among other EU citizens declined from 18.0% to 12.5%, gradually approaching the level observed for nationals, which dropped from 13.7% to 10.9%.
This article presents European statistics for 3 employment condition indicators: self-employment, under a contract of limited duration (in other words, temporary employment), and part-time employment. These indicators are analysed according to individuals’ citizenship and their migration status.
Individuals are classified by citizenship as either nationals or non-nationals of the country in which they reside. Non-nationals are further divided into 2 groups: those who hold a citizenship of another EU country and those who hold a citizenship of a non-EU country.
Migration status is defined according to individuals’ country of birth and, where relevant, their parents’ country of birth. Individuals are grouped as either native-born or foreign-born. Native-born individuals are further classified based on the birthplace of their parents, in order to reflect on the possible migrant background. As a result, the migration status categories used are: native-born with 2 native-born parents, native-born with one foreign-born parent, native-born with 2 foreign-born parents, and foreign-born persons.
This article forms part of the online publication on migrant integration statistics.
Overview
The EU labour force survey (EU-LFS) is the source of data for this article which focus is the age group 20-64 years. This age group is the focus for employment analyses in the Action Plan on integration and inclusion 2021–2027.
This overview section focuses on 3 key indicators by citizenship over the period from 2004 to 2024: self-employment, employees with a contract of limited duration and part-time employment. The following 3 sections, one for each indicator, present the data broken down by both citizenship and migration status.
The share of self-employed people remained highest among nationals throughout the period, although it followed a slight downward trend, reaching its lowest point in 2024 (Figure 1). For citizens of other EU countries and non-EU citizens, the developments were less consistent over time. By 2024, the shares for these 2 groups had become similar.
Between 2004 and 2024, non-EU citizens consistently recorded the highest shares of employees with a contract of limited duration, while nationals had the lowest (Figure 2). In recent years, the share of other EU citizens has gradually converged toward that of nationals, resulting in the lowest gap (1.6 percentage points) observed in 2024.
Between 2004 and 2024, nationals consistently showed the lowest shares of part-time employment (Figure 3). From 2004 to 2014, the share generally increased across all 3 groups, reaching a peak in 2014. After that, the overall trend was pointing downwards, particularly among non-EU citizens, whose levels have narrowed towards those of other EU citizens.
Self-employment
In 2024, nationals showed the highest share of self-employment in total employment, followed by citizens of other EU countries and non-EU citizens, whose shares were very similar (Figure 4). Greater variability was observed at the country level, particularly in Greece and Italy, where nationals had the highest values, and in Croatia and Portugal, where citizens of other EU countries recorded highest shares. At EU level, the share of self-employed was consistently higher for males across all citizenship groups.
In 2024, the highest share of self-employment was found among native-born with 2 native-born parents, while the lowest was among native-born with both parents born abroad (Figure 5). The largest differences between the groups appeared in Greece and Poland: while in Greece the highest value was recorded for native-born with 2 native-born parents, in Poland the highest value was observed for native-born with both parents born abroad. At EU level, men had a higher share of self-employment than women, regardless of migration status.
Employees with a contract of limited duration
In 2024, nationals showed the lowest share of employees with a contract of limited duration, while non-EU citizens recorded the highest (Figure 6). At the national level, variability between the groups was particularly pronounced in Cyprus, the Netherlands, and Portugal. At the EU level and across all citizenship groups, female employees had a higher share of contracts of limited duration than males.
In 2024, foreign-born employees and native-born employees with 2 foreign-born parents had a higher share of contracts of limited duration compared to native-born employees with either 1 foreign-born parent or 2 native-born parents. This trend was consistent for both women and men. Women had a higher share of contracts of limited duration than men, regardless of migration background. The greatest variability between the 4 groups was observed in Italy and Portugal.
Part-time employment
In 2024, part-time employment was lowest for nationals, and highest for non-EU citizens. The share of part-time employment varied across countries and citizenship groups, with the largest disparities among the 3 groups observed in the Netherlands, Malta, and Luxembourg. Women had considerably higher shares of part-time employment than men across all citizenship categories.
In 2024, part-time employment was more prevalent among native-born with 1 or 2 foreign-born parents and foreign-born compared to native-born with 2 native-born parents. This pattern was consistent across sexes. Women reported higher rates of part-time employment than men regardless of migration status. Among EU countries, the largest disparities between the 4 groups were observed in Spain and Luxembourg.
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. For figures by citizenship, shares are taken directly from Eurostat's dissemination database; for those by migration status, shares are calculated using data from the same source.
Main concepts
An employed person is someone aged 15-89 years 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.
An employee is a particular type of employed person. Employees work for a public or private employer and receive compensation in the form of wages, salaries, payment by results, or payment in kind; non-conscript members of the armed forces are also included. Employees are not self-employed or contributing family workers.
Self-employed persons are defined as persons who work in their own business (including professional practices, farms, shops and other businesses) for the purpose of earning a profit.
An employee is considered as having a temporary job if employer and employee agree that its end is determined by objective conditions, such as a specific date, the completion of an assignment, or the return of an employee who is temporarily replaced: in such cases the employee has a contract of limited duration (as opposed to one of unlimited duration).
The distinction between full-time and part-time work is generally based on a spontaneous response by a respondent to the labour force survey.
Context
In November 2020, an Action Plan on integration and inclusion 2021–2027 (COM(2016) 377 final) was adopted with the purpose of fostering social cohesion and building inclusive societies for all. Inclusion for all is about ensuring that all policies are accessible to and work for everyone, including migrants and EU citizens with migrant background. This plan includes actions in 4 sectoral areas (education and training, employment and skills, health and housing) as well as actions supporting effective integration and inclusion in all sectoral areas at the EU, Member State and regional level, with a specific attention paid to young people.
In April 2024, the European Parliament adopted the Pact on Migration and Asylum, followed by the Council in May 2024. The revised Reception Conditions Directive and the Qualifications Regulation, which are part of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, include important provisions on integration. The Pact provides a comprehensive approach that delivers a common European response to migration. It allows the EU to manage migration in a fair and sustainable way, ensuring solidarity between countries while also providing certainty and clarity for people arriving in the EU and protecting their fundamental rights. The Pact will ensure that countries share the effort responsibly, showing solidarity with the ones that protect our external borders and with those facing particular migratory pressure, while preventing irregular migration to the EU. The Pact also gives the EU and its countries the tools to react rapidly in situations of crisis, when countries are faced with large numbers of arrivals or when a third-country or non-State entity tries to instrumentalise migrants in order to destabilise our Union.
More information on the policies and legislation in force in this area can be found in an introductory article on migrant integration statistics.
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