Labor Force Participation among Immigrants in 10 Western European Countries: Generation, Gender and Ethnicity

Abstract

Using data from five European Social Surveys the study focuses on labor force incorporation of sub-groups of immigrants in 10 West-European countries. Whereas the analysis reveals that rate of labor force activity among first-generation immigrants is lower than that of comparable native-born populations regardless of ethnicity or gender, meaningful differences across sub-groups of second-generation immigrants are observed. Second-generation male and female immigrants of European origin achieve parity with native-born Europeans in rate of participation; by contrast, second-generation immigrant men and women of non-European origin and of the Muslim faith are less likely to become economically active than comparable Europeans.