GENEVA (ILO News) – Migrants earn on average almost 13 percent less than national workers in high-income countries, according to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
In some countries, such as Cyprus, Italy, and Austria, the difference in hourly wages is higher, at 42 percent, 30 percent, and 25 percent, respectively. In Finland, it is lower than average at 11 percent, and in the European Union as a whole it is almost 9 percent.
Migrant workers earn less than citizens of the same occupational category with similar qualifications.
They are more likely to work in low-skilled and low-paid jobs that do not match their education and skills, which may indicate discrimination in hiring. Labor migrants with higher education in high-income countries are also less likely to be employed in higher professional categories.
In the United States and Finland, for example, while the share of migrant workers with a high school education is 78 percent and 98 percent, respectively, the share of migrant workers with highly or semi-skilled jobs is only 35 percent and 50 percent.
This indicates that they find it difficult to transfer their skills and experience between countries, largely due to the lack of systems that recognize the skills and qualifications of migrant workers.
In low- and middle-income countries, the situation is the opposite: migrant workers are usually temporary, highly skilled expatriates. They tend to earn about 17.3 percent more per hour than non-migrant workers.
