Migrant integration pays off, says OECD-EU report

Positive progress on the integration of immigrants into the European Union and other countries is being made on many fronts, but living conditions remain a challenge, says a joint report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, and European Union.

The study, Indicators of Immigrant Integration: Settling In, released on Thursday, represents the most comprehensive international comparison created to date, analyzing the characteristics and integration results for immigrants and their children in OECD, EU, and certain other countries.

Migrants are helping to fill key skills gaps and contribute to the economies of host countries, though significant challenges remain such as with living conditions, the report said.

"There has been substantial progress over the last decade especially in labor market integration of immigrants, despite the disproportionate decline at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis followed by a quick recovery to pre-2020 levels," said the study's executive summary.

"This improvement is attributable to a mix of factors such as better integration policies, more favorable labor market conditions than a decade ago, and higher educational levels of recent arrivals," it said.

The study spans 83 indicators, addressing key aspects such as employment, education, housing, health, civic involvement, and social integration.

Countries within the EU and OECD nations are home to 54 and 141 million foreign-born individuals respectively, representing a 20-percent increase in both cases over the past 10 years, said the report.

Between 2011 and 2021, the employment rates of recent arrivals have risen in more than two-thirds of countries, it said.

In terms of education, the study found that in 2020, 36 percent of immigrants arriving in the EU within the previous five years were tertiary-educated, and 47 percent in the OECD, compared to 22 percent and 32 percent a decade earlier.

Host-country language proficiency improved among recent arrivals in Europe and the United States, where the trend was especially notable, it said. After 10 years of residence in the EU, 70 percent of immigrants had advanced language proficiency, compared to 40 percent of recent arrivals. In the US, it is 74 percent versus 63 percent.

Progress was observed in other aspects as well. Attitudes toward migration among native-born residents have grown to be more positive in most countries during the past 10 years. However, living conditions have not seen significant improvements and continue to be a cause for concern.

Social integration for immigrants is an increasing concern and challenging to evaluate, according to the study. It said immigrants participate less in voluntary organizations and have higher trust in police and legal systems in most countries.

However, challenges persist: immigrants have lower employment rates than native-born individuals, and closing this gap could add 2.4 million workers in the EU alone, it said.

The report highlights that integration and inclusion investments benefit migrants, their families, societies, and economies, while failure to integrate is costly. It said that with shrinking workforces and labor shortages in many countries, efforts to integrate migrants and families are essential.

If immigrants' poverty levels matched native-born levels, around 10 million people would escape poverty, OECD-wide, said the report.

It noted that tracking progress in migrant integration and pinpointing challenges are essential.