Immigrant employment in EU reaches record high in 2025, though gaps remain

Jul 23, 2026

Immigrant employment in the European Union reached a record high of 68.2% in 2025, up from 67.8% in 2024. The largest improvement since 2017 was among non-EU immigrants, whose employment rate rose by 6.6 percentage points, from 59.4% to 66.0%, narrowing part of the gap with the native-born population. Outcomes continue to vary substantially across countries: in Germany, the employment rate among non-EU immigrants was 66.1%, compared with 79.6% among native-born people. The report found that remaining employment disadvantages are concentrated among non-EU immigrant women and highly educated non-EU immigrants. Christian Dustmann, director of ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin, said that for immigrants generally, the challenge was no longer simply getting them into work but ensuring that their skills were fully utilized.

EU immigrant employment record high

▪A report by the ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin shows that rising immigrant employment in the European Union narrows the gap with native-born workers.
▪Immigrant employment in the European Union rose to a record high of 68.2% in 2025, up from 67.8% in 2024.

Non-EU immigrant employment growth

▪The employment gap between non-European Union immigrants and the native-born population narrowed between 2017 and 2025.
▪The employment rate among non-European Union immigrants increased by 6.6 percentage points from 2017 to 2025, climbing from 59.4% to 66%.

EU immigrant employment rates

▪The employment rate among native-born people residing in their country of birth in the European Union rose from 67.2% in 2017 to 71.6% in 2025.
▪The employment rate among EU-born immigrants residing in another EU member state increased from 71.1% in 2017 to 74.8% in 2025.

Country-specific employment variation

▪In Germany, the employment rate among non-EU immigrants stands at 66.1%, compared with 79.6% among native-born people.
▪Non-European Union immigrant employment is particularly high in Malta, the Czech Republic, and Ireland, but much lower in Belgium and Finland.

Skills underutilization among migrants

▪Remaining employment gaps in the European Union are concentrated among non-EU immigrant women and highly educated non-EU immigrants.
▪Christian Dustmann, director of ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin, said the challenge was no longer simply getting immigrants into work but ensuring that their skills were fully utilized.