In various Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, such as the United States, immigrants show lower unemployment rates than those born there.
The recently released OECD International Migration Outlook 2023 reveals that in addition to the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Slovakia also experience lower unemployment rates among immigrants than the native population, VisaGuide.World reports.
Costa Rica and Chile, in particular, show the most significant advantages for immigrants, with their unemployment rates being 1.5 percentage points lower based on the most recent data available. On the other hand, in some OECD member states, the native-born population surpasses migrants in labor market performance.
According to the report, although Anglophone nations and Latin American countries generally show positive results for immigrants in relation to unemployment, this trend is only sometimes applicable.
Latin American countries might lack the social safety nets of more developed nations while at the same time offering more opportunities for easier access to self-employment and informal labor. Yet, not all of them see immigrants overperform in terms of unemployment.
Despite sharing many favorable labor market characteristics for immigrants, Mexico recorded a migrant unemployment rate 1.1 percentage points higher than that of native-born Mexicans. While Slovakia showed lower unemployment among immigrants than native Slovaks, this pattern was not true in the neighboring Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland.
The overall trend shows that inequalities in labor market success are more pronounced in regions with higher overall unemployment rates. Again, Latin America is an exception where migrants achieve positive outcomes despite high unemployment.
The OECD asserts that tight labor markets and larger city environments favor migrants. Furthermore, a country’s immigration policy plays an important role, as high quotas for work visas can contribute to reducing the unemployment rate of migrants.
Moreover, migrant unemployment rates may be negatively affected by strict labor market regulations and narrowly regulated institutions, potentially explaining the situation in Northern and Western European countries.
A report from the United Kingdom highlights discrimination as another factor contributing to adverse market outcomes for migrants. Although the overall unemployment situation for immigrants in the OECD still lags, there has been an improvement, with the unemployment gap narrowing by at least 2.5 percentage points since 2019.