Migrant integration statistics - employment conditions

Data extracted: November 2022.

Planned article update: May 2023.

Highlights

Among employed persons aged 20–64 years living in the EU, 11.2 % of citizens of other EU Member States and 11.0 % of non-EU citizens were self-employed in 2021. This was less than the share observed for nationals (13.4 %).

Among employees aged 20–64 years living in the EU in 2021, 25.5 % of non-EU citizens were employed with a contract of limited duration; the shares were notably lower for citizens of other EU Member States (16.1 %) and for nationals (12.2 %).

Among employed persons aged 20–64 years living in the EU, 16.7 % of nationals worked part time in 2021. This share was notably higher among citizens of other EU Member States (21.5 %) and higher still among non-EU citizens (23.6 %).

Share of employees with a contract of limited duration, by citizenship, EU, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_etpgan)

This article presents European statistics for three main indicators of employment conditions: self-employment, employment under a contract of limited duration (in other words, temporary employment) and part-time work. These three indicators are analysed according to an individual’s citizenship or country of birth. Information is presented for various groups of foreign citizens or foreign-born persons and compares these with nationals or native-born persons.

This article forms part of an online publication on migrant integration statistics.

Full article

Overview

The Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) is the source of data for this article. 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 main indicators of employment conditions are presented in this article. The overview focuses on an analysis of these three indicators by citizenship and by country of birth: the following three sections – one for each indicator – present more detailed information by citizenship only.

Figure 1: Main employment conditions indicators for persons aged 20–64 years, by citizenship or country of birth, EU, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_esgan), (lfsa_pganws), (lfsa_esgacob), (lfsa_pgacws), (lfsa_etpgan), (lfsa_etpgacob), (lfsa_eppgan) and (lfsa_eppgacob)

In the EU, 13.4 % of nationals who were in employment were self-employed in 2021 – see Figure 1. This was slightly more than 2 percentage points above the shares for citizens of other EU Member States (11.2 %) and for non-EU citizens (11.0 %).

Among employees living in the EU, 12.2 % of nationals had a contract of limited duration in 2021; in other words, they were temporary employees. For citizens of other EU Member States, the share was almost 4 percentage points higher at 16.1 %. For non-EU citizens, a peak of 25.5 % was recorded; this was more than double the share for nationals.

In the EU, 16.7 % of nationals in employment worked part time in 2021. This share was notably higher among citizens of other EU Member States (21.5 %) and among non-EU citizens (23.6 %).

When analysed by country of birth rather than by citizenship, a similar pattern was observed. However, the differences between the three categories of country of birth were notably narrower (than for the categories of citizenship) for the share of employees with a contract of limited duration and somewhat narrower for the share of self-employment.

Figure 2: Difference between the main employment conditions indicators by citizenship and by country of birth, persons aged 20–64 years, EU, 2021
(percentage points)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_esgan), (lfsa_pganws), (lfsa_esgacob), (lfsa_pgacws), (lfsa_etpgan), (lfsa_etpgacob), (lfsa_eppgan) and (lfsa_eppgacob)

Figure 2 is based on the same data as Figure 1 but, instead of showing the actual shares, shows for the two foreign or foreign-born categories the difference between their shares and the shares for nationals / native-born persons.

In general terms, in the EU in 2021 self-employment was less common among foreign citizens / foreign-born persons than among nationals / native-born persons, while employees working with a contract of limited duration and part-time employment were both more common among foreign citizens / foreign-born persons. Furthermore, these gaps were somewhat stronger for non-EU citizens / non-EU-born persons than for EU citizens / EU-born persons.

Figure 3: Change in main employment conditions indicators for persons aged 20–64 years, by citizenship or country of birth, EU, between 2012 and 2021
(percentage points)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_esgan), (lfsa_pganws), (lfsa_esgacob), (lfsa_pgacws), (lfsa_etpgan), (lfsa_etpgacob), (lfsa_eppgan) and (lfsa_eppgacob)

Between 2012 and 2021, the share of self-employment decreased in the EU, regardless of citizenship – see Figure 3. The fall in this share was strongest among citizens of other EU Member States (down 2.8 percentage points), while the smallest decrease was observed for non-EU citizens (down 0.2 percentage points). Equally, this share was lower in 2021 than in 2012 for all three categories of country of birth, however there was little difference in the magnitude of the decreases (between -1.4 and -1.8 percentage points).

The share of employees in the EU with a contract of limited duration increased between 2012 and 2021 by 2.2 percentage points among non-EU citizens. This was the only one of these indicators of employment conditions for which any of the categories of citizenship recorded an increase during the period studied. By contrast, the share of employees with a contract of limited duration decreased between 2012 and 2021 by 1.1 percentage points among nationals and by 2.3 percentage points among citizens of other EU Member States. An analysis by country of birth shows a fall in this share for all three categories, with the largest decrease (down 3.4 percentage points) for persons born in other EU Member States.

Between 2012 and 2021, the share of part-time employment decreased in the EU, regardless of citizenship: notably larger decreases were observed for the two categories of foreign citizens (both down 2.5 percentage points) than for nationals (down 0.4 percentage points). When analysed by country of birth, the changes were quite small, ranging from a decrease of 0.4 percentage points for native-born persons to an increase of 0.4 percentage points for non-EU-born persons; there was no change for citizens of other EU Member States.

Figure 4: Difference between citizenship and country of birth in the shares for the main employment conditions indicators, persons aged 20–64 years, EU, 2021
(percentage points)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_esgan), (lfsa_pganws), (lfsa_esgacob), (lfsa_pgacws), (lfsa_etpgan), (lfsa_etpgacob), (lfsa_eppgan) and (lfsa_eppgacob)

Figure 4 directly compares the shares for these three indicators of employment conditions between categories of foreign citizenship and categories of foreign-born persons. For each indicator, the shares in the EU in 2021 for EU citizens other than nationals are compared with the shares for persons who are EU-born other than in the reporting Member State; equally, the shares for non-EU citizens are compared with the shares for non-EU-born persons.

For the indicators concerning self-employment and part-time employment, the shares are very similar, regardless of whether the analysis is made by citizenship or country of birth.
For the share of employees with a contract of limited duration, the shares were notably higher for the two categories of foreign citizenship than for the equivalent categories of foreign-born persons.

Self-employment

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. Considering the population of employed people, for males and females aged 20–64 years as well as for young people (aged 15–24 years), self-employment was more common in the EU in 2021 among nationals than among foreign citizens (either of the two categories).

The difference between the two categories of foreign citizenship was particularly small for young people just 0.1 percentage points higher for non-EU citizens than for citizens of other EU Member States (low reliability data).
Among females aged 20–64 years, the difference between the two categories of foreign citizenship was 0.3 percentage points, with a slightly higher share for female non-EU citizens than for female citizens of other EU Member States.
However, among males aged 20–64 years the difference between the two categories of foreign citizenship was somewhat larger, 1.0 percentage points, with a higher share for male citizens of other EU Member States.

Figure 5: Share of self-employed persons in total employment by citizenship, EU, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_esgan) and (lfsa_pganws)

Two types of self-employed persons can be distinguished:

employers – who employ other people; and
own-account workers – who do not have any employees.

In the EU in 2021, the relative importance of the two types of self-employment was similar, regardless of citizenship – see Figure 6. For foreign citizens, the share of employers was 30.0 % for citizens of other EU Member States compared with 30.2 % for non-EU citizens. The share for national citizens was somewhat higher, at 31.8 %.

Figure 6: Structure of self-employment, persons aged 20–64 years, by citizenship, EU, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_esgan)

Among EU Member States, the highest share of self-employment among total employment in 2021 for nationals was in Greece (28.5 %) – see Figure 7. This share was also relatively high in Italy (20.5 %) and Poland (18.1 %). Most of the remaining Member States reported self-employment shares above 10.0 %, with lower shares in Sweden, Luxembourg, Denmark and Germany (where the lowest share was recorded, 7.8 %).

For citizens of other EU Member States, the highest share of self-employed persons in total employment was 20.3 % in Greece, while the lowest was 7.3 % in Cyprus (note that data are available for 17 Member States). In a majority of the Member States (10 from 17), the share of self-employment was higher for national citizens than for citizens of other Member States. This gap was widest in Italy (11.2 percentage points) and in Greece (8.1 percentage points). Among the seven Member States where the self-employment share was higher among citizens of other Member States, the widest gaps were in Finland (5.8 percentage points) and Malta (5.4 percentage points).

For non-EU citizens, the share of self-employed persons in total employment ranged from a 27.6 % in Czechia to 5.4 % in Sweden (data available for 22 EU Member States). In a majority of the Member States (15 from 22), the share of self-employment was higher for national citizens than for non-EU citizens. This gap was widest in Greece (14.6 percentage points) and in Italy (7.1 percentage points). Among the seven Member States where the self-employment share was higher among non-EU citizens, the widest gaps were in Lithuania (12.7 percentage points; low reliability) and Czechia (12.6 percentage points).

In three EU Member States (out of 17 for which data are available for all three categories of citizenship), the share of self-employed persons was lower among nationals than for either of the two categories of foreign citizenship: Finland, France and Malta. By contrast, in Greece, Italy, Ireland, Austria, Cyprus, Sweden, Netherlands and Luxembourg, the share of self-employment was highest among national citizens.

Figure 7: Share of self-employed in total employment, persons aged 20–64 years, by citizenship, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_esgan) and (lfsa_pganws)

Figure 8 focuses on one category of foreign citizens, namely non-EU citizens. It shows the gap for the share of self-employment comparing the share for non-EU citizens with that of nationals. Negative values reflect a lower share among non-EU citizens.

The share of self-employment was lower for non-EU citizens than it was for nationals in the EU in 2021, a gap of 2.4 percentage points. This gap was notably larger for males (4.3 percentage points) than for females (0.8 percentage points). In a majority of EU Member States, the share for both sexes combined was lower for non-EU citizens than it was for national citizens, in line with the average for the EU.

The largest negative gap for males was in Greece, where the self-employment share for male non-EU citizens was 20.5 percentage points lower than for male nationals. Among the 21 Member States for which data are available, there were 13 more which recorded a negative gap. The largest positive gaps among the seven Member States with higher shares for non-EU citizens were in Czechia and Lithuania (low reliability), both with a difference of 15.1 percentage points.
The largest negative gap for females was also in Greece, where the self-employment share for female non-EU citizens was 6.7 percentage points lower than for female national citizens. Among the 17 Member States for which data are available, seven more recorded a negative gap. By far the largest positive gap among the nine Member States with higher shares for non-EU citizens was in Czechia, with a difference of 8.5 percentage points.

Figure 8: Difference between non-EU citizens and nationals in the share of self-employment, persons aged 20–64 years, 2021
(percentage points; share for non-EU citizens minus share for nationals)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_esgan) and (lfsa_pganws)

Employees with a contract of limited duration

Employees are individuals who work for a public or private employer and who in return 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. An employee is considered as having a temporary job if employer and employee agree that its end is determined by objective conditions: in such cases the employee has a contract of limited duration (as opposed to one of unlimited duration).

Looking at the population of employees, for males and females aged 20–64 years, the share of employees with a contract of limited duration in the EU in 2021 was lower among national citizens than among citizens of other EU Member States, which in turn was lower than the share among non-EU citizens – see Figure 9.

The difference between the shares for nationals and citizens of other Member States was narrower than the gap for nationals and non-EU citizens.
While the share of female employees with a contract of limited duration was higher than the corresponding share among males for both nationals and citizens of other EU Member States, there was almost no gender gap for non-EU citizens. As a result, the gap for non-EU citizens was somewhat larger for males (14.2 percentage points) than for females (12.4 percentage points).

For young employees (aged 15–24 years), the share of employees with a contract of limited duration in the EU in 2021 was considerably higher than for employees aged 20–64 years. Furthermore, among young employees the share with a contract of limited duration did not vary greatly by citizenship.

While the share among non-EU citizens was again the largest, the difference in the share compared with national citizens was narrower than for employees aged 20–64 years.
A positive gap was observed for young employees who were citizens of other EU Member States, as their share with a contract of limited duration was lower (by 1.5 percentage points) than for young national citizens.

Figure 9: Share of employees with a contract of limited duration in total number of employees, by citizenship, EU, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_etpgan)

Among EU Member States, the highest shares among the total employees of employees with a contract of limited duration in 2021 for nationals were in Spain (23.2 %) and the Netherlands (22.2 %) – see Figure 10. Most of the remaining Member States reported shares above 5.0 %, with lower shares in Slovakia, Bulgaria, the Baltic Member States and Romania; the lowest share was recorded in Estonia at 1.3 %.

For citizens of other EU Member States, in 2021, the highest share of employees with a contract of limited duration in total number of employees was 33.3 % in the Netherlands and shares over 20.0 % were also observed in Spain, Finland and Italy; the lowest share was 4.8 % in Malta (note that data are available for 17 Member States). In the vast majority of the Member States (14 from 17), this share was higher for citizens of other Member States than for nationals. This gap was widest in the Netherlands (11.1 percentage points) and in Greece (9.0 percentage points; low reliability). Among the three Member States where the share was lower among citizens of other Member States, the gap was particularly narrow in Malta (0.3 percentage points) and also quite narrow in Cyprus (2.2 percentage points) and Ireland (2.6 percentage points).

For non-EU citizens, five of the 22 Member States for which data are available recorded shares of employees with a contract of limited duration in total number of employees that were above 40.0 % among non-EU citizens; the highest share was 54.4 % in Cyprus. Shares below 10.0 % were observed in four Member States, including two below 5.0 % – Latvia and Estonia with shares of 3.0 % and 2.6 % (both low reliability), respectively. In all 22 of the Member States for which data are available, the share of employees with a contract of limited duration was higher for non-EU citizens than for nationals. This gap was largest in Cyprus (46.5 percentage points) while it was narrowest in Latvia (0.4 percentage points; low reliability).

In 14 EU Member States (out of 17 for which data are available for all three categories of citizenship), the share of employees with a contract of limited duration was lower among nationals than for either of the two categories of foreign citizenship. The exceptions were Ireland, Cyprus and Malta, where the share was lower for citizens of other Member States than for nationals. In all 17 Member States, the share of employees with a contract of limited duration was highest among non-EU citizens.

Figure 10: Share of employees with a contract of limited duration in total number of employees, persons aged 20–64 years, by citizenship, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_etpgan)

Like Figure 8, Figure 11 focuses on non-EU citizens. It shows the gap for the share of employees with a contract of limited duration comparing the share for non-EU citizens with that of nationals. Positive values reflect a higher share among non-EU citizens.

The share of employees with a contract of limited duration was 13.3 percentage points higher for non-EU citizens in 2021 than it was for national citizens in the EU. This gap was somewhat larger for males (14.2 percentage points) than for females (12.4 percentage points). As already noted, in all EU Member States (for which data are available), the share for both sexes combined was higher for non-EU citizens than it was for nationals.

In all Member States (for which data are available), the share of male employees with a contract of limited duration was higher among non-EU citizens than among nationals. The widest gap among males was 29.0 percentage points in Portugal, with gaps over 20.0 percentage points also observed in Sweden, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Spain and Belgium.
The only negative gap for females was in Ireland (-0.2 percentage points; low reliability). In the 18 other Member States for which data are available, the share of employees with a contract of limited duration was higher for female non-EU citizens than for female national citizens. By far the widest gaps were in Croatia and Cyprus, with differences of 54.2 (low reliability) and 62.8 percentage points, respectively.

Figure 11: Difference between non-EU citizens and nationals in the share of employees with a contract of limited duration, persons aged 20–64 years, 2021
(percentage points; share for non-EU citizens minus share for nationals)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_etpgan)

Part-time employment

The distinction between full-time and part-time work is generally based on a spontaneous response by a respondent to the labour force survey. Among employed males and females aged 20–64 years, the share of part-time employment in the EU in 2021 was lower among nationals than among citizens of other EU Member States, which in turn was lower than the share among non-EU citizens – see Figure 12.

The difference between the shares for national citizens and citizens of other Member States was considerably narrower for males than for females.
The shares for the two categories of foreign citizenship were quite different among males but quite similar among females.
The shares of part-time employment were considerably higher for females than for males among all categories of citizenship.

For young persons (aged 15–24 years) in employment, the shares working part-time in the EU in 2021 were slightly lower for both categories of foreign citizenship than for national citizens. The shares of young persons working part-time were higher than for employed persons aged 20–64 years. The difference was particularly large for nationals, reflecting the relatively low shares for national citizens aged 20–64 years (as the shares of young persons who worked part-time did not vary much between the three categories of citizenship).

Figure 12: Share of part-time employment in total employment, by citizenship, EU, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_eppgan)

For nationals, the highest share of part-time employment in 2021 among EU Member States was in the Netherlands (39.6 %) – see Figure 13. This share was also above one quarter in Austria (29.4 %) and Germany (28.1 %). Five of the remaining Member States reported part-time employment shares below 5.0 %, with the lowest share in Bulgaria (1.5 %).

There was a somewhat narrower range among the EU Member States in the share of part-time employment in 2021 for foreign citizens:

for citizens of other Member States, the highest share was 27.7 % in Austria while the lowest was 7.1 % in Czechia (note that data are available for 16 Member States);
for non-EU citizens, the share ranged from 32.8 % in the Netherlands to 5.5 % in Czechia (data available for 21 Member States).

Despite the relatively clear pattern for the EU as a whole, the situation among the EU Member States varied.

In half (8 from 16) of the EU Member States for which data are available, part-time employment in 2021 was more common among citizens of other Member States than among nationals. This gap was widest in Greece (9.1 percentage points). Among the eight Member States where the part-time employment share was lower among citizens of other Member States, the widest gaps were in the Netherlands (12.4 percentage points) and Luxembourg (9.7 percentage points).
Equally, in around half of the Member States (12 from 21) the share of part-time employment was higher for non-EU citizens than for nationals. This gap was widest in Lithuania (10.1 percentage points; low reliability) and in Italy (8.7 percentage points). Among the nine Member States where the part-time employment share was lower among non-EU citizens, the widest gaps were in the Netherlands (6.8 percentage points) and Luxembourg (5.8 percentage points).

For 16 EU Member States, 2021 data are available for all three categories of citizenship.

In the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Malta, Belgium and Ireland, the share of part-time employment was lower for both categories of foreign citizens than for nationals.
In Greece, Italy, France, Finland, Spain, Cyprus and Sweden, the opposite was observed: the share of part-time employment was higher for both categories of foreign citizens than for nationals; a similar situation was observed in Czechia, but the share for non-EU citizens was the same as for national citizens.
In the two remaining Member States, the situation was more nuanced:
- In Denmark, the shares for nationals and citizens of other Member States were quite similar, while the share for non-EU citizens was higher;
- In Germany, the shares for nationals and non-EU citizens were quite similar, while the share for citizens of other Member States was lower.

Figure 13: Share of part-time employment in total employment, persons aged 20–64 years, by citizenship, 2021
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_eppgan)

Figure 14 shows the gap for the share of part-time employment comparing the share for non-EU citizens with that of nationals. Positive values reflect a higher share among non-EU citizens.

The share of part-time employment was higher for non-EU citizens than it was for nationals in the EU in 2021, a gap of 6.9 percentage points. This gap was notably larger for females (11.2 percentage points) than for males (6.2 percentage points). In 11 of the 20 EU Member States for which data are available, the share for both sexes combined was higher for non-EU citizens than it was for national citizens, in line with the average for the EU.

The largest gap for males was in Cyprus, where the share of part-time employment for male non-EU citizens was 10.1 percentage points higher than for male nationals. Among the 19 Member States for which data are available, 14 more recorded a higher share for non-EU citizens. In Ireland (low reliability), there was no gap for males, while in Estonia, Latvia (low reliability) and Slovenia (low reliability), the part-time employment share was lower for male non-EU citizens than for male nationals, although the gaps were quite small in percentage point terms.
The part-time employment share for female non-EU citizens was higher than the equivalent share for female nationals in 14 of the 20 Member States for which data are available; the largest gaps in this direction were in Italy (14.3 percentage points) and France (11.9 percentage points). In Austria there was no difference between the shares for female non-EU citizens and female citizens. Czechia, Cyprus, Malta, Luxembourg and the Netherlands recorded higher part-time employment shares for female nationals: in Czechia the difference was slight, while the largest gaps in this direction were in Luxembourg (13.3 percentage points) and the Netherlands (15.9 percentage points).

Figure 14: Difference between non-EU citizens and nationals in the share of part-time employment, persons aged 20–64 years, 2021
(percentage points; share for non-EU citizens minus share for nationals)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_eppgan)

Source data for tables and graphs

Migrant integration statistics – employment conditions: figures

Data sources

The data presented in this article are from the EU labour force survey (EU-LFS), the largest European household sample survey. The survey covers the resident population, defined as all people usually residing in private households. 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 Member States. For more information on the data sources used, please consult the online publication EU labour force survey.

Limitations of the data

The labour force survey only covers private households. As such, persons living in collective households are excluded from the target population. 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 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.

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 four 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.

More information on the policies and legislation in force in this area can be found in an introductory article on migrant integration statistics.