Entry into the Labor Market
In France, the influx of refugees over the past two years will only represent an increase of 0.15% of the labor force in the country. “For about half of European countries, the arrival of refugees will clearly have no impact on the labor force, and the others will only experience a moderate impact by the end of 2020,” the report states.
“By improving the employability of refugees and vulnerable migrants, host countries help them to express their full economic potential and thus benefit from the positive economic impact. Their integration into the labor market also improves the acceptance and social inclusion of refugees within the local community. Failing to integrate these individuals comes with a cost in terms of social exclusion, tension, and increasingly unequal societies.”
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development also reveals that in many EU countries, the more natives interact with immigrants, the more they see immigration as an opportunity for their country rather than a problem.
European Citizens on the Front Line to Welcome Refugees
Despite the end of the migration crisis, many European states still block the reception of migrants under dignified conditions. For the European Agency for Fundamental Rights, local-level action can provide a solution.
“Recognizing the qualifications of asylum seekers upon their arrival is crucial for the fastest possible entry into the labor market. On this point, France is very, very behind,” laments Stefano Scarpetta, Director of Employment, Labor, and Social Affairs at the OECD.
On average, in European countries, it takes refugees 20 years to reach an employability rate similar to that of natives of the host country. Five years after their arrival, only one in four refugees is employed.
In France, three million young people aged 15 to 34 are neither employed, studying, nor in training (NEET). In total, 40% of them are immigrants or children of immigrants. France, Austria, and Belgium are under scrutiny by the European Commission in this regard.
Even More Difficult Integration for the Most Vulnerable
The OECD focuses mainly on two particularly vulnerable groups of immigrants, for whom the organization calls for strengthened integration measures: refugee women and unaccompanied minors.
Less than one in two refugee women has a job. Yet they make up more than 40% of refugees. “But they arrive later, often thanks to family reunification, and therefore have less access to integration services. This integration is thus too late,” regrets Christophe Dumont.
As for unaccompanied minors, nearly 100,000 applied for asylum in the EU in 2015.
For them, even though access to employment is a positive step towards integration, obtaining a job too early can prevent them from reaching a basic level of education. The OECD therefore recommends adapting school services upon their arrival, especially by postponing the legal age of schooling, by providing more flexibility.”
