This paper is a joint effort by the OECD and the European Commission to make a first evaluation o... more This paper is a joint effort by the OECD and the European Commission to make a first evaluation of the situation on refugees on the labour market. It is based on the 2014 [European Union] EU Labour Force Survey. Available evidence confirms that refugees are one of the most vulnerable groups when it comes to labour market integration but show, however, significant differences across European countries.
Refugees face an array of serious challenges on the path to integration. They are likely to be le... more Refugees face an array of serious challenges on the path to integration. They are likely to be less well educated, less economically active and less employed (especially if they are women). They tend to be more exposed to poverty than the native born population. Even if the labour market integration of refugees progresses significantly over time, it takes them almost two decades to arrive at the same employment rates as the native born. Good education is a necessary condition for their successful labour market integration. It improves their prospects of gaining employment and the host-country's growth prospects. It will help them to earn decent wages and will facilitate their social integration. However, the impact of refugees' existing and newly acquired education remains muted unless combined with more comprehensive support and removal of integration obstacles. This concerns the fight against discrimination on the labour market. In addition, improved recognition of qualifications and access to comprehensive training and integration support are key to remove obstacles to labour market access. Indeed, knowledge of the host-country language is a very strong determinant of labour market outcomes.
While receiving refugees is often considered temporary, actually many of them obtain host country citizenship over time and stay. If the reception of refugees and their family members is properly coupled with integration, it will enable the EU to capitalise on the human potential of refugees and on their strong motivation to become active members of European society.
The paper examines the labour market outcomes of refugees in Europe. It finds that refugees do ca... more The paper examines the labour market outcomes of refugees in Europe. It finds that refugees do catch up with the native born population but it takes them up to 20 years to do so. Education levels and host country language knowledge improve significantly the employment outcomes of refugees. Bringing refugee women into employment is a particular challenge.
The analysis shows that many of the policy interventions made in 2014 failed to cover the differe... more The analysis shows that many of the policy interventions made in 2014 failed to cover the different segments of the LTU population equally or adequately. The young, the low-skilled and third-country migrants faced the highest risk of being LTU before the crisis and were then the hardest hit during the crisis, while the old and low-skilled now have the least chance of returning to work.
The policy interventions that are seen to have a major positive impact in aiding the long-term unemployed back to stable jobs are three-fold: lifelong learning/training, PES registration and receiving unemployment benefits ( ). The impact of the last two policy interventions depends, however, on the quality of their delivery and design, and can vary across target groups. For example, low education levels are more of a hindrance to entering employment for young people than they are for older LTU.
The Chapter concludes that a comprehensive policy action is needed, combining activation and support that is linked to the economic cycle, extending both expenditure on, and coverage of, support (e.g. unemployment benefits) and activation measures (e.g. ALMPs and lifelong learning/training) during economic downturns. In that respect, however, the analysis also highlights the fact that group-specific and country-specific policy interventions remain key factors that influence the extent to which the long-term unemployed can be helped back into stable jobs.
This paper is a joint effort by the OECD and the European Commission to make a first evaluation o... more This paper is a joint effort by the OECD and the European Commission to make a first evaluation of the situation on refugees on the labour market. It is based on the 2014 [European Union] EU Labour Force Survey. Available evidence confirms that refugees are one of the most vulnerable groups when it comes to labour market integration but show, however, significant differences across European countries.
Refugees face an array of serious challenges on the path to integration. They are likely to be le... more Refugees face an array of serious challenges on the path to integration. They are likely to be less well educated, less economically active and less employed (especially if they are women). They tend to be more exposed to poverty than the native born population. Even if the labour market integration of refugees progresses significantly over time, it takes them almost two decades to arrive at the same employment rates as the native born. Good education is a necessary condition for their successful labour market integration. It improves their prospects of gaining employment and the host-country's growth prospects. It will help them to earn decent wages and will facilitate their social integration. However, the impact of refugees' existing and newly acquired education remains muted unless combined with more comprehensive support and removal of integration obstacles. This concerns the fight against discrimination on the labour market. In addition, improved recognition of qualifications and access to comprehensive training and integration support are key to remove obstacles to labour market access. Indeed, knowledge of the host-country language is a very strong determinant of labour market outcomes.
While receiving refugees is often considered temporary, actually many of them obtain host country citizenship over time and stay. If the reception of refugees and their family members is properly coupled with integration, it will enable the EU to capitalise on the human potential of refugees and on their strong motivation to become active members of European society.
The paper examines the labour market outcomes of refugees in Europe. It finds that refugees do ca... more The paper examines the labour market outcomes of refugees in Europe. It finds that refugees do catch up with the native born population but it takes them up to 20 years to do so. Education levels and host country language knowledge improve significantly the employment outcomes of refugees. Bringing refugee women into employment is a particular challenge.
The analysis shows that many of the policy interventions made in 2014 failed to cover the differe... more The analysis shows that many of the policy interventions made in 2014 failed to cover the different segments of the LTU population equally or adequately. The young, the low-skilled and third-country migrants faced the highest risk of being LTU before the crisis and were then the hardest hit during the crisis, while the old and low-skilled now have the least chance of returning to work.
The policy interventions that are seen to have a major positive impact in aiding the long-term unemployed back to stable jobs are three-fold: lifelong learning/training, PES registration and receiving unemployment benefits ( ). The impact of the last two policy interventions depends, however, on the quality of their delivery and design, and can vary across target groups. For example, low education levels are more of a hindrance to entering employment for young people than they are for older LTU.
The Chapter concludes that a comprehensive policy action is needed, combining activation and support that is linked to the economic cycle, extending both expenditure on, and coverage of, support (e.g. unemployment benefits) and activation measures (e.g. ALMPs and lifelong learning/training) during economic downturns. In that respect, however, the analysis also highlights the fact that group-specific and country-specific policy interventions remain key factors that influence the extent to which the long-term unemployed can be helped back into stable jobs.
Uploads
Papers by Filip Tanay
However, the impact of refugees' existing and newly acquired education remains muted unless combined with more comprehensive support and removal of integration obstacles. This concerns the fight against discrimination on the labour market. In addition, improved recognition of qualifications and access to comprehensive training and integration support are key to remove obstacles to labour market access. Indeed, knowledge of the host-country language is a very strong determinant of labour market outcomes.
While receiving refugees is often considered temporary, actually many of them obtain host country citizenship over time and stay. If the reception of refugees and their family members is properly coupled with integration, it will enable the EU to capitalise on the human potential of refugees and on their strong motivation to become active members of European society.
The policy interventions that are seen to have a major positive impact in aiding the long-term unemployed back to stable jobs are three-fold: lifelong learning/training, PES registration and receiving unemployment benefits ( ). The impact of the last two policy interventions depends, however, on the quality of their delivery and design, and can vary across target groups. For example, low education levels are more of a hindrance to entering employment for young people than they are for older LTU.
The Chapter concludes that a comprehensive policy action is needed, combining activation and support that is linked to the economic cycle, extending both expenditure on, and coverage of, support (e.g. unemployment benefits) and activation measures (e.g. ALMPs and lifelong learning/training) during economic downturns. In that respect, however, the analysis also highlights the fact that group-specific and country-specific policy interventions remain key factors that influence the extent to which the long-term unemployed can be helped back into stable jobs.
However, the impact of refugees' existing and newly acquired education remains muted unless combined with more comprehensive support and removal of integration obstacles. This concerns the fight against discrimination on the labour market. In addition, improved recognition of qualifications and access to comprehensive training and integration support are key to remove obstacles to labour market access. Indeed, knowledge of the host-country language is a very strong determinant of labour market outcomes.
While receiving refugees is often considered temporary, actually many of them obtain host country citizenship over time and stay. If the reception of refugees and their family members is properly coupled with integration, it will enable the EU to capitalise on the human potential of refugees and on their strong motivation to become active members of European society.
The policy interventions that are seen to have a major positive impact in aiding the long-term unemployed back to stable jobs are three-fold: lifelong learning/training, PES registration and receiving unemployment benefits ( ). The impact of the last two policy interventions depends, however, on the quality of their delivery and design, and can vary across target groups. For example, low education levels are more of a hindrance to entering employment for young people than they are for older LTU.
The Chapter concludes that a comprehensive policy action is needed, combining activation and support that is linked to the economic cycle, extending both expenditure on, and coverage of, support (e.g. unemployment benefits) and activation measures (e.g. ALMPs and lifelong learning/training) during economic downturns. In that respect, however, the analysis also highlights the fact that group-specific and country-specific policy interventions remain key factors that influence the extent to which the long-term unemployed can be helped back into stable jobs.