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Essential Work, Migrant Labour: What Explains Migrant Employment in European Key Sectors?

Author

Listed:
  • Nikolaj Broberg

    (OECD)

  • Jérôme Gonnot

    (ESPOL-LAB - ESPOL-LAB - ESPOL - European School of Political and Social Sciences / École Européenne de Sciences Politiques et Sociales - ICL - Institut Catholique de Lille - UCL - Université catholique de Lille)

  • Friedrich Poeschel

    (EURAC - European Academy Bozen/Bolzano)

  • Martin Ruhs

    (EUI - European University Institute - Institut Universitaire Européen, Migration Policy Center)

Abstract

Amidst the COVID-19 lockdowns, it became obvious that migrants play a critical role in economic sectors that are essential to the functioning of everyday life. Are they over-represented in these sectors, and how is the use of migrant labour linked to structural factors in the provision of essential services? Using micro data from the EU Labour Force Survey 2011-2020 for 17 countries, we measure the difference in the probability of working in key sectors for various types of migrants relative to similar natives across countries of destination. We find that in most countries, migrants are over-represented with respect to native-born workers after accounting for individual characteristics. This arises especially for Italy, the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom. Migrants who are female, migrated after the age of 15, spent less time at destination or were born in non-EU countries are much more likely to work in key sectors than the native-born. Investigating structural factors, we establish strong and robust correlations between migrants' over-representation and precarious job conditions, autonomy at work, wages, occupational prestige as well as public attitudes to migrants.

Suggested Citation

  • Nikolaj Broberg & Jérôme Gonnot & Friedrich Poeschel & Martin Ruhs, 2025. "Essential Work, Migrant Labour: What Explains Migrant Employment in European Key Sectors?," Working Papers hal-04520475, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-04520475
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04520475v3
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