This new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) shows that in high-income countries migrants earn nearly 13% less than national workers. In some countries, the gap widens to as much as 42%. 

This pay gap has increased over the last five years. In Luxembourg, for instance, migrants now earn 27% less than nationals compared with 15% less in 2015; in the Netherlands the gap stood at 16.5% in 2015 and is currently 20%; in Belgium it has risen from 10% to 13%. In low- and middle-income countries, however, migrant workers tend to be temporary and highly skilled, earning 17.3% more per hour than non-migrant workers.

According to research carried out by the ILO, migrant citizens in high-income countries are more likely to be in precarious employment. They are disproportionately represented in the primary sector, e.g. in agriculture, fishing and forestry, and are employed to a greater extent than native-born citizens in the secondary sector (e.g. in mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity, gas and water, and construction). The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has also served to exacerbate employment and wage issues for migrants.

Key findings in the report include:

• Migrant workers earn less than similarly qualified nationals within the same occupational category;
• The pay gap between migrant care workers and non-migrant care workers stands at approximately 19%;
• Migrant women workers are doubly discriminated against when it comes to wages, both as migrants and as women;
• Discrimination against and the exclusion of migrants has been aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic in all countries;
• At the onset of COVID-19, tens of millions of migrant workers lost their jobs and were forced into an uncertain state of limbo or to return home.

On publication of the report Michelle Leighton, Chief of the Labour Migration Branch, said:

'Migrant workers often face inequality of treatment in the labour market, including with respect to wages, access to employment and training, conditions of work, social security, and trade union rights. They play a fundamental role in many economies. They cannot be considered as second-class citizens.'

View a full list of the report's key findings here.

View an executive summary of the report here.

Access the report in full here.