The labour market disparities of second-generation immigrants

The successful integration of second-generation immigrants into education and employment is essential for Europe’s long-term social and economic cohesion. This column uses the results of the latest edition of the European Labour Force Survey to assess the demographic profile, educational attainment, and employment outcomes of second-generation immigrants, finding that they tend to be younger and less educated than the children of native-born parents. While this helps explain their concentration in low-quality jobs, it does not fully account for their lower overall employment rates. This suggests the existence of structural barriers that affect them regardless of their educational qualifications.

Much of the migration literature has historically focused on the socioeconomic integration of first-generation immigrants (e.g. Borjas 1985, Berbée and Stuhler 2025, Brücker et al. 2021, Fortin et al. 2016, Solmone and Frattini 2022). However, their sons and daughters – native-born individuals with immigrant parents – represent a crucial and growing segment of the European workforce. Ensuring their successful integration into education and employment will be essential for the long-term social and economic cohesion of European societies. Consequently, the integration of second generations and the intergenerational mobility of immigrants have become an emerging focus in the migration literature (e.g. Algan et al. 2010, OECD 2023, Boustan et al. 2025, Hermansen et al. 2025).

While second-generation immigrants benefit from being born and raised in their country of residence, which eliminates or greatly reduces linguistic and cultural barriers, they may still face disadvantages in education and employment and may suffer from discrimination (Abramitzky et al. 2021).

In a recent report (Frattini and Cugini 2025), based on the latest edition of the European Labour Force Survey, we investigate the labour market integration of second-generation immigrants in Europe – assessing their demographic profile, educational attainment, and employment outcomes.

Second-generation immigrants account for 6% of the population in EU14 countries

Since large-scale immigration is a relatively recent phenomenon in many European countries, second-generation immigrants still make up a smaller share of the population than first-generation immigrants. As of 2023, first-generation immigrants account for 16% of the population aged 0–74 across the EU14, compared to 6% for the second generation.

This average, however, masks considerable variation across countries (Figure 1). The share of second-generation immigrants reaches 10% in Luxembourg and around 8% in Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. By contrast, the proportion remains much lower in most Central and Eastern European countries: approximately 2% in Greece, Lithuania, Malta, and Portugal, and 3% in Italy.

Figure 1 Share of second-generation immigrants in the total 0–74 population

Most second-generation immigrants are young or children

Figure 2 shows that second-generation immigrants are, on average, very young: 42% are in the 0–14 age group, with this share rising to 70% in countries with a more recent migration history, such as Italy and Spain. An additional 27% are aged 15–29. In contrast, the native population with native-born parents is more concentrated in older age groups: 36% are aged 30–54, and 32% fall within the 55–74 age range.

Figure 2 Age distribution of natives, mixed, second- and first-generation immigrants in EU14 countries

Second-generation immigrants are less educated than natives

To assess the educational attainment and labour market outcomes of second-generation immigrants, we focus on the working-age population (25–64 years old).

Across the EU14, second-generation immigrants are less likely than natives to have completed tertiary education (31% versus 37%) and more likely to have attained, at most, lower secondary education (26% versus 21%). These disparities widen to 9 and 7 percentage points, respectively, when differences in age and gender composition are taken into account. This is largely explained by the younger age profile of second-generation immigrants compared to natives, as well as the higher tertiary education rates among younger cohorts.

Second-generation immigrants have a lower probability of employment than natives

In terms of employment, second-generation immigrants in EU14 countries are 5 percentage points less likely to be employed than natives (73% versus 78%). However, as shown in Figure 3, there are significant cross-country differences in both directions. In Luxembourg and Portugal, the employment rate of second-generation immigrants is higher than that of natives – by 9 and 7 percentage points, respectively. By contrast, the employment gap is substantially wider than the EU14 average in Belgium (–17 percentage points), France (–8 percentage points), and the Netherlands (–7 percentage points).

Figure 3 Differences in employment probability between natives and second-generation immigrants, age 25–64

The employment gap cannot be explained by differences in age, gender, or – in particular – educational attainment. This suggests that the disparity is driven by factors directly related to individuals’ migration background.

Educational gaps explain disadvantage in job quality

Second-generation immigrants are more likely to be employed in elementary occupations (Figure 4). Specifically, they are one percentage point more likely than natives to work in low-skilled, low-paid jobs (7% versus 6%), and less likely to hold high-skilled positions (45% versus 49%). However, in both cases, these differences disappear entirely once age, gender, and education are controlled for – indicating that these labour market disadvantages are largely explained by educational disparities.

Figure 4 Differences in the probability of having an elementary or high-skill occupation between natives and second-generation immigrants in EU14 countries, age 25–64

Second-generation immigrants continue to face employment disadvantages compared to natives, even after accounting for differences in age, gender, and education. This persistence suggests that other factors – such as discrimination, limited access to social networks, and institutional barriers – may play a significant role in hampering their labour market integration.

To address these challenges, policies should aim to reduce early educational disadvantages through targeted support. Moreover, the persistent employment gap highlights the need for interventions that tackle structural barriers to labour market participation. These may include stronger anti-discrimination measures as well as initiatives that connect second-generation immigrants with professional networks, mentorship programmes, and job placement services.

Source : VOXeu