This article by OECD economists Lukas Kleine-Rueschkamp and Cem Özgüzel assesses the contribution of migrants to 'key worker' occupations across 31 European countries. It concludes that migrants and native-born workers are equally likely to support regional economies as key workers, but that within countries there are large differences across regions and between cities and rural areas.

Overall, data show that migrants play an important role in low-skilled key worker positions (e.g. office cleaners or storage labourers) and in cities (particularly in middle-skilled positions such as personal care workers or transport workers). They also provide high-skilled essential labour for European healthcare systems, as doctors and nurses.

During the various lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic their important contributions have gained greater recognition and prompted many countries to react. Italy, for instance, granted temporary work permits to undocumented migrants employed in agriculture, fishing, care and domestic work. France has begun to fast-track the naturalisation process for migrant key workers on the 'frontline' of the COVID-19 response, and the UK extended by a year the visas of health and social care workers.

Building on the research carried out for an OECD report released in June 2020, the article's authors present the following key findings:

• Migrants account for 14% of key workers across European regions on average. This share varies widely in different regions, though, ranging from almost 50% (Brussels; the Lake Geneva region) to 1% or even lower (Bratislava; Bucharest).

• Capital city regions tend to have higher shares of migrant key workers (20% on average).

• Regional differences exceed 30% in Belgium and the UK, driven by the large migrant communities of Brussels and London and their high proportion of key workers.

• Migrants represent 17.5% of key workers in cities, 12% in towns and semi-dense areas and 7% in rural areas. 

• Non-EU migrant doctors are found more commonly in cities, while migrant doctors from EU countries mostly live outside cities. Foreign-born nurses and personal care assistants (those from non-EU countries in particular) tend to work in cities.

Source: OECD calculations based on the European Labour Force Survey, 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to the necessity of migrant key workers of all skill levels, something previously overlooked in migration debates (which tend to focus on the contributions of highly skilled migrants only). A new public discourse is consequently developing, around policies that aim to ensure better pay, better access to jobs, and better recognition of foreign qualifications for migrants.

Access the referenced OECD report online here.