Immigration Employment Gap — 20-Country Official Statistics
This page compiles official employment and unemployment rate data comparing immigrants and native-born populations across 20 Western countries. Definitions of "immigrant" vary significantly between countries (foreign-born, foreign national, migration background, etc.) — direct cross-country comparisons must be interpreted with care. "No official data available" means no official comparable statistic was found at the time of research.
Employment / Unemployment Gaps: Country-by-Country Official Statistics
| Country | Native-born (employment/unemployment rate) | Immigrant (employment/unemployment rate) | Gap | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | Danish-origin men: 81%, women: 78% (employment rate) | Non-Western immigrant men: 71%, women: 61% | Men: 10pp gap Women: 17pp gap | Statistics Denmark (RAS register data) | 2024 |
| Sweden | Native-born: employment rate 70.0%, unemployment 5.7% | Foreign-born: employment rate 65.8%, unemployment 16.2% | Employment: 4.2pp Unemployment: 10.5pp | SCB Labour Force Survey (AKU) | 2024 annual average |
| Norway | Without immigrant background: 80% employment rate (age 20–66) | Immigrants: 68% | 12pp gap | IMDi (Indikatorrapport 2025) | 2024 |
| Finland | Finnish-origin: 79% employment rate (age 20–64) | Foreign-origin: 70.3% | 8.7pp gap (down from 15pp in 2016) | Statistics Finland | 2023 |
| Germany | National avg. men: 72%, women: 70% employment rate | 2015 refugee cohort men: 76% (above avg.) Refugee women: 35% (−35pp vs national avg.) | Men: refugees above average Women: extreme gap (−35pp) | IAB "10 Jahre Fluchtmigration" | 2024 (9 years after arrival) |
| France | Population without immigrant background: 7% unemployment (age 15–64) | Immigrants: 12% Children of immigrants: 10.2% | 5pp gap | INSEE / DGEF | 2024 |
| Netherlands | Total population: 73.1% (primary income from labour) | Foreign-born: 66.3% | 6.8pp gap | CBS "Integratie en samenleven 2024" | 2023 |
| Belgium | Belgian-origin: 75.8% employment rate (age 20–64) | North African origin: 51.3% Sub-Saharan African origin: 54.3% EU candidate countries: 58.2% | 20–24pp gap | Statbel (2022 data) | 2022 |
| Ireland | Irish nationals: 72.5% of total employment | Non-Irish nationals: 27.5% of employment (61.4% of all job gains 2019–2024) | Share data only (no direct rate gap) | CSO "Distribution of Earnings by Nationality 2024" | 2024 |
| Italy | Italian nationals: 61.5% employment rate | EU citizens: 63.8% Non-EU citizens: 60.7% | Non-EU: −0.8pp (slight gap) | ISTAT "Noi Italia — Labour Market" | Recent data |
| Spain | No comparable employment rate data published | 2.855m foreign nationals in social security (+7.93%/yr) Foreign workers: 44.85% of net job creation in Q4 2024 | No comparable gap data | SEPE/MITES "Foreign Labour Market Report" | 2024 |
| Portugal | Total population: 6.6% unemployment | Foreign nationals: 11.9% unemployment (over-qualification rate 42.8%) | 5.3pp unemployment gap | INE / IEFP / Ministry of Labour (GEP) | 2025 Q1 |
| Czechia | No comparable data published | Ukrainian TPS beneficiaries: ~80% employed among economically active | No comparable gap data | Czech Academy of Sciences (Sociological Institute) | 2025 |
| Austria | Without migration background: 76.4% employment rate Austrian nationals: 5.7% unemployment | With migration background: 69% employment Foreign nationals: 10.5% unemployment Afghan/Syrian/Iraqi origin: 44.1% employment, 31.3% unemployment | Employment: 7.4pp gap Unemployment: 4.8pp (by nationality) | Statistik Austria / ÖIF "Statistisches Jahrbuch Migration & Integration 2025" | 2024 |
| United Kingdom | No single comparable indicator (available in EMP06 dataset) | Non-EU-born employment rate in 2025 higher than in 2019 | Available in ONS EMP06 dataset (Excel download only) | ONS EMP06 dataset | 2025 |
| Switzerland | Swiss residents: 3.3% ILO unemployment | Foreign nationals: 7.7% ILO unemployment | 4.4pp unemployment gap | OFS "Labour Market Bulletin" | 2025 Q2 |
| United States | Native-born men: 65.9% labour force participation rate | Foreign-born: 4.2% unemployment Foreign-born men: 77.3% labour participation | Men: immigrants higher participation (+11.4pp) Unemployment rates similar | BLS "Foreign-Born Workers: Labor Force Characteristics — 2024" | 2024 |
| Canada | No comparable data published | Origin- and status-specific employment data: to be added | No official data available | — | — |
| Australia | No single comparable indicator | NW Europe origin: 3.0% unemployment (lowest) N. Africa / Middle East origin: 6.9% (highest) Recent migrants avg. employment rate: 68% | Up to 3.9pp gap between origin regions | Jobs and Skills Australia (Jan 2025) / ABS CoRMS | November 2024 data |
| New Zealand | No comparable data published | No explicit comparison rate with citizens published | No official data available | — | — |
Important Caveats for Comparison
- Definition of "immigrant": Countries use different measures — foreign-born (Sweden, Norway), foreign nationals (Portugal, Switzerland), migration background (Germany, Austria). These are not equivalent.
- Age group differences: Denmark uses age 20–64, Norway 20–66, France 15–64. Gaps may partially reflect age composition.
- Within-group heterogeneity: Aggregate "immigrant" averages mask large differences between Western-origin and non-Western-origin immigrants. Austria, Denmark, and Australia publish this breakdown.
- Duration effects: Multiple studies confirm that employment rates rise with time since arrival. Figures for recent arrivals and long-settled migrants differ substantially.