The underutilisation of talent in the migrant population reflects a failure of integration
Too often ‘migrants’ are lumped together in policy and public debates as a single population group. Yet the people who come to settle in the UK are highly diverse. This is reflected in the varied employment outcomes experienced by different groups within the migrant population, often reflecting dynamics that are given insufficient attention by policy makers.
Migrants coming from outside of the EU face the greatest challenges to integration in the UK labour market. In 2012, the employment rate for this group (including all those of working age and excluding those in regular education) was 68 per cent, compared with 75 per cent for non-migrants, and compared to between 80 and 82 per cent for EU migrants.
New research by IPPR has dug deeper into these figures to identify some of the characteristics that underpin the above variance.
To unpick some of the outcomes for particular migrant groups, our research looked at different groupings (considering gender, qualification and nationality among other things) and compared them like for like with the non-migrant population.
This revealed important differences between groups. For example, the employment rate for non-EU migrants falls short of those in the non-migrant population for all qualification levels, and the gap gets wider as the level of qualification decreases (see chart below).
But the picture is markedly different for men compared to women. Men from outside the EU have similar employment rates to those in the non-migrant population, irrespective of qualification level. Yet for women from outside the EU, the gap in employment rate with non-migrant women ranges from minus 16 percentage points for those with degrees to minus 22 percentage points for lower qualified women.
Employment gap (percentage point) between migrants from out side the EU and the non-migrant population, by qualification and gender
This almost entirely accounts for the overall employment gap that we see between all non-EU migrants and non-migrants, and shows that even very educated women from outside the EU have relatively low employment rates. This is particularly the case for some nationality groups – our findings show that women from south and southeast Asian countries are less than half as likely to be in work as men, with employment rates of 43 and 87 percent respectively (although there are signs that this gap is may be starting to narrow).
The underutilisation of talent and potential in the existing migrant population reflects a failure of integration. It leaves the UK in the paradoxical position of having considerable untapped potential within the existing migrant population while the country is struggling to boost ailing productivity, including through recruitment from abroad.
In light of this, policy makers should recalibrate their focus away from a preoccupation with controlling the nature and volume of future migration flows, and towards tackling the challenges faced by people that are already here and trying to engage in the UK labour market.
Alfie Stirling is a researcher at IPPR. Follow him on Twitter
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55 Responses to “The UK is failing to make the most of the skills and talents of its migrant population”
Charlatans
Guest you must be that Leon Wolfson nutter that infests and rants on this blog with incomprehensible leftist claptrap that does not ever make any sense. God help us from the diatribe you spout.
Guest
“UR NUTTER JEW”, as you call on Satan to defend you from Jews and facts, spewing that anything outside your far right religion of hate does not make any sense.
You’re another Lord Blagger identity, I see, as you seek to “uninfest” the world from Jews, whose words are “ranting”.
sam
Ya know, I’m starting to think that Leon, is actually a Turing test.
I asked if english was his second language because it seemed like we misunderstood each other. Then he says ” you keep saying you don’t understand english “.
and I have seen posts where, Leon is arguing with a guest, Leon is making sense, and the guest is using mannerisms indicative of belligerent Leon. ?
Eather that, or Leon has a split personality.
damon
You are weird Leon, but there’s something of the mainstream left about you too.
You’re a parody, but then so are those twits who chase Farage every time he goes out in public.
Why you think I hate Jews I have no idea. I have no feelings of animosity toward Jews at all. I quite like aspects of the religion in fact. More than my own family’s Catholicism for sure. I once attended a Shabatt evening meal with a group of Jewish people in Israel. I really enjoyed it. I also really liked being in a couple of Synagogues there while people were going about their religious practices.
I liked the fact that women were chatting at the back and even eating I think I remember. And then dipping in and out of whatever the rabbi was doing.
It looked so informal and relaxed.
But you know better you silly twit Leon. I actually hated those people even though I didn’t realise it.
damon
He’s got this forum ruined as a place for discussion anyway.
I can’t see why the blog owner doesn’t do anything about him.
He probably doesn’t care much about these below the line comments.