By TIOL News Service

PARIS, JUNE 20, 2018: AN Organization of Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) report suggests that immigrant flow to OECD countries has dropped slightly for the first time since 2011. The report suggests that around 5 million new permanent migrants were reported in 2017, down from 5.3 million reported in 2016. The tentative reason for the decrease in migrants is the significant decrease in humanitarian migration, which further resulted from the decline in new asylum applications, with 1.2 million applications in 2017 compared to 1.6 million in 2016.

Besides the 2018 International Migration Outlook report stated that only about half of the number of asylum applications received by European countries were being registered. However, a very large number of applications were recorded elsewhere, with the United States of America recording a 26% increase, Australia recording a 29% increase and Canada receiving a whopping 112% increase. As of now, OECD member countries host around 6.4 million refugees. Thus is more than half of the refugees accomodated in Turkey. It may also be noted that the top three nations from which asylum seekers come are Afghanistan, Iraq & Syria.

In this regard, the Secretary General of the OECD, Mr Angel Gurria, stated that countries have made good progress in terms of integration and strengthening initiatives linked to improving language skills and recognising qualifications. He also underscored the need for increased cooperation with employers on integration. Mr Gurria was addressing the gathering on the occasion of the launching the report in Paris on the occasion of World Refugee Day. He also called for increased & better coordination among recipient countries to deal with migration flows, especially in the European Union.

Public opinion in many countries remains concerned about the impact on the labour market of the influx of new migrants and the effects of irregular migration. The report analyses, for the first time, the impact of the recent arrival of these refugees on the job markets of host countries. For European countries, the labour market impact of this refugee inflow will be small and concentrated on the working-age population, which would increase by no more than 0.4% by December 2020. Taking into account the low participation rates of refugees, the impact on the labour market as a whole would be more limited, at around 0.24%.

However, in some countries and sectors, notably among young, low-educated men in Austria and Germany, the impact is expected to be higher of up to 15%. Putting in place effective labour market integration measures for the most vulnerable refugees should be accompanied by strengthening policies to support these groups, particularly in terms of training and skills development, according to the report. In addition to the challenge of labour market integration, the report also notes the importance of tackling irregular immigration, including the illegal employment of foreign workers. The 2018 edition examines the measures put in place by OECD countries to prevent, control and sanction the employment of foreigners in an irregular situation.

The lack of data and profiles of people staying and working illegally in OECD countries may lead to people underestimating the extent of the issue and its impact on public opinion, according to the report. Policies to combat illegal work by foreigners should extend beyond verification checks and forced returns to include strengthening labour inspections, creating legal pathways for labour migration according to labour market needs and a more effective fight against informal employment in general. Also for the first time, the International Migration Outlook presents consolidated data on all categories of temporary labour migration, including seasonal work. In total, OECD countries are home to more than 4.2 million temporary foreign workers (up 11% from 2016), the largest figure ever measured, reflecting the continuing demand for labour at all levels of qualification in many OECD countries.

The 2018 edition of the report highlights that the employment rate of migrants in OECD countries is up 1 percentage point in relation to 2016, to 67.1%. The improvement between 2016 and 2017 was more marked for foreign-born women, whose average participation and employment rates rose faster than those of immigrant men.