Unemployment for non-EU citizens higher than for EU nationals

In 2013 in the EU28, the unemployment rate for non-EU citizens1 (21.3%) aged 20 to 642 was more than twice the level for citizens of the reporting country (10.0%), referred to as “nationals”. However, the share of people unemployed for 12 months or more was at almost the same level for non-EU citizens (48.6%) and for nationals (49.4%).

As regards employment, the rate for non-EU citizens aged 20 to 64 in the EU28 stood at 56.1%, while it was 68.9% for nationals. The share of employees aged 20 to 64 with a temporary contract was higher for non-EU citizens (20.2%) than for nationals (12.4%). The pattern was the same for the proportion of part time employment, which was more widespread amongst non-EU citizens (27.5%) than amongst nationals (18.4%).

Highest employment rate

The situation of citizens of another EU Member State was very different. In 2013 in the EU28, the employment rate for citizens of another EU Member State1 (70.9%) aged 20 to 64 was slightly higher than that for citizens of the reporting country (68.9%). Regarding employment conditions, the share of employees aged 20 to 64 with a temporary contract in the EU28 was higher for citizens of another EU Member State (16.4%) than for nationals (12.4%), as was the proportion of part-time employment (24.0% citizens of another EU Member State, compared with 18.4% for nationals).

For unemployment, the rate for citizens of another EU Member State aged 20 to 64 in the EU28 stood at 12.2% in 2013, while it was 10.0% for nationals. The share of long-term unemployment was however notably lower for citizens of another EU Member State (40.0%) than for nationals (49.4%).

Employment rates differ

In 2013 in the EU28, the employment rate was 56.1% for non-EU citizens, compared with 68.9% for citizens of the reporting country. In nearly all EU Member States, the employment rate of nationals was higher than for non-EU citizens, except in Cyprus (66.8% for nationals compared with 74.3% for non-EU citizens), the Czech Republic (72.4% compared with 79.5%), Lithuania (69.8% compared with 70.8%) and Italy (59.5% compared with 60.1%). The pattern was more mixed when comparing the employment rate for nationals with that for citizens of another EU Member State.

In 2013 across Member States, the largest differences between the employment rates for non-EU citizens and for nationals were recorded in Sweden (50.2% for non-EU citizens compared with 81.3% for nationals, or -31.1 percentage points), followed by Belgium (-28.8 pp), the Netherlands (-26.8 pp), France (-22.0 pp), Finland (-20.5 pp) and Germany (-20.2 pp).