Introduction

• Author: Biletta, Isabella; Vanderleyden, Julie; Brandsma, Nils; Weber, Tina
• Pages: 1-1

Having a foreign background can be a barrier

to smooth labour market integration and

obtaining a job in line with one’s qualifications.

Employment is consistently lower in the

foreign-born population; for instance, in 2018,

the EU employment rate for foreign-born

people of working age was 68%, compared to

74% for natives. Foreign background can also

be a source of discrimination both in searching

for employment and in the workplace.

Policy discussions around the level and quality

of the integration of individuals with a foreign

background into the labour market are not new

but have attained a heightened profile with the

arrival in the EU of high numbers of migrants

since 2015. An extensive body of research,

including work by Eurofound, documents and

assesses the barriers facing migrants seeking

to access the labour market in their host

countries and the reasons why – in some cases

– labour market disadvantages persist into the

second generation. However, less is known

about the working conditions of non-natives

and whether there are significant differences

between the first-generation migrants and

their offspring.

This policy brief is a contribution to filling this

knowledge gap, bringing together various

elements to provide a picture of the overall

experience of work among workers with a

foreign background, based on data from the

2015 European Working Conditions Survey

(EWCS).

1

Introduction