In 2020, the EU employment rate for people aged 20 to 64 years was 61.9 % for those non-EU-born, and 73.5 % for people born in another EU Member State as well as for the native-born population.
During the period from 2010 to 2020, non-EU-born persons systematically recorded lower employment rates than their EU-born peers or the native-born population, with the differences increasing over time up until 2017. Thereafter, the differences in employment rates began to narrow until 2020 when the gap widened again. The EU employment rate for the non-EU-born persons in 2020 was 11.6 pp lower than the rate observed for persons born elsewhere in the EU as well as that for the native-born population.
Compared with 2019, the employments rates in 2020 were 2.5 pp lower for non-EU-born persons, 1.8 pp lower for persons born in another EU Member State and 0.4 pp lower for those native-born. This downturn reflects the impact on labour markets of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source dataset: lfsa_ergacob
Among the EU Member States, in 2020, Czechia reported the highest employment rate for persons born outside the EU (82.5%), while the lowest rate was observed in Belgium (52.3%). All but four Member States recorded a drop in the employment rates for non-EU-born between 2019 and 2020.
For persons born in another EU Member State, Malta (89.8%) had the highest employment rate, while the lowest rate was in Greece (56.7%). Among 25 EU Member States for which these results are available, 12 countries recorded a decline in the employment rates and 13 recorded an increase between 2019 and 2020.
The highest employment rate for the native-born population was in Sweden (85.3%), while the lowest rate was in Greece (61.8%). 23 Member States showed a decline in the employment rates for native-born persons between 2019 and 2020.
Source dataset: lfsa_ergacob
For more information:
- Statistics Explained article on migrant integration statistics – labour market indicators.
- Eurostat website section dedicated to Migrant integration.
- Eurostat database of migrant integration statistics.
- Germany special note: Since the first quarter of 2020, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) has been integrated into the newly designed German microcensus as a subsample. Unfortunately, for the LFS, technical issues and the COVID-19 crisis have had a large impact on the data collection processes, resulting in low response rates and a biased sample.
To contact us, please visit our User Support page.
For press queries, please contact our Media Support.