According to a report by RFBerlin, this new record for immigrant employment in 2025 helped to narrow the employment gap with those born in the country. However, the European labour market continues to fail to realise a significant part of its potential.
Reported by Consejeros Editorial Team
More immigrants than ever are in work across the European Union. Last year, the proportion of immigrants in employment rose from 67.8% to 68.2%. The employment rate thus reached an all-time high in 2025, continuing the steady progress recorded in recent years. The greatest improvement was seen among immigrants from outside the EU, whose employment rate rose by 6.6 percentage points since 2017, from 59.4 per cent to 66 per cent in 2025, which partly narrowed the gap with the native-born population. The employment rate among EU immigrants also rose, from 71.1 per cent to 74.8 per cent, whilst among the native-born population it rose from 67.2 per cent to 71.6 per cent, also reaching its highest level during that period. These are the findings of a report by the Centre for Research and Analysis on Migration (CReAM) at the Rockwool Foundation Berlin, based on Eurostat data.
“The proportion of immigrants in employment has been rising for many years, and the figures are approaching those of the native-born population,” says Tommaso Frattini, deputy director of CReAM at RFBerlin and professor of economics at the University of Milan. However, significant potential in the labour market remains untapped, particularly among women from outside the EU and highly educated migrants.
Nevertheless, this overall improvement masks substantial differences between immigrants’ regions of origin and their host countries. Across much of Europe, immigrants born in other EU Member States have employment rates similar to, or even higher than, those of the native population. Among immigrants from outside the EU, however, outcomes vary much more from one country to another. Employment rates for this group are particularly high in countries such as Malta (83.7 per cent), the Czech Republic (77.3 per cent) and Ireland (76.1 per cent), and lower in Belgium (58.5 per cent) and Finland (58.6 per cent).
In the specific case of Spain, the employment rate for non-EU immigrants stands at 65.4 per cent, close to that of the native-born population (67.1 per cent), but lower than that of EU immigrants (72.3 per cent).
The remaining employment gap is increasingly concentrated among specific groups, rather than among immigrants as a whole. By 2025, employment rates amongst non-EU male immigrants had almost converged with those of men born in the country. However, disadvantages persist amongst non-EU women, whose employment rates remain well behind both those of women born in the country and those of female immigrants born in the EU.
The report also highlights a significant underutilisation of immigrants’ skills. Across much of Europe, highly educated immigrants from non-EU countries are far less likely to be in employment than native-born people with the same level of education.
“Europe has made remarkable progress in integrating immigrants into the labour market,” says Christian Dustmann, director of RFBerlin and professor of economics at University College London. “The current challenge is no longer simply to get immigrants into work, but to ensure that their skills are fully utilised. Better recognition of foreign qualifications, the reduction of unnecessary certification barriers and an increase in the labour market participation of women from non-EU countries could help alleviate labour shortages, whilst making better use of Europe’s human capital.”
