ΕΛΣΤΑΤ: Immigrants and their children are in the worst position in the labor market

The employment rate in Greece last year was almost the same for people born in Greece to Greek parents and for people born abroad (50.4% and 50.7% respectively). In contrast, the employment rate was much lower (33.4%) for second-generation immigrants.

This follows from a special study ΕΛΣΤΑΤ on the position of immigrants and their direct descendants in the labor market.

Employment by age group. The difference in the position of the local population compared to second generation immigrants is explained by the different age composition of this category: a large proportion of 15-24 year olds among the second generation of immigrants. This is the group of citizens with the largest participation in education.

In the 25-44 age group, the employment rate of second-generation immigrants is almost the same as that of local Greeks. While it is significantly lower among those who were born abroad and migrated at a conscious age. Finally, foreign-born people show the highest unemployment rate, as well as the lowest participation rate in education.

People without an immigrant background show the highest percentage of college-educated graduates and the lowest percentage with lower levels of education. Conversely, second-generation immigrants have the lowest percentage of tertiary education and the highest percentage of undergraduate education. It is noted, however, that these results are formed by the different age structure of immigrants in the second generation: a significant part of these persons continue their studies in the formal education system.

Local Greeks show the highest percentage of employment in highly skilled non-physical occupations (33.8%), while those born (came) from abroad (13.9%) have the lowest percentage. Second-generation immigrants are employed in the majority (42%) in low-skilled non-physical jobs.

Significant differences are also manifested in the sectoral distribution of occupations by immigrant origin. The percentage of foreigners employed in manufacturing is almost double that of people without an immigrant background (26.4% versus 14.4%). Second-generation immigrants are mainly employed in trade, transport, catering and hospitality (55.4%), while local Greeks show the highest employment rates in the primary sector, as well as in public administration, education, health and art.

About 9 out of 10 workers say they are quite or very satisfied with their profession. Satisfaction rates are the same for people with different immigration backgrounds, but it has been observed that the percentage of those who say they are not satisfied is almost twice as high among people born abroad (10.2% vs. 6.4%). Satisfaction levels are almost the same for second-generation immigrants and for people without an immigrant background.

Similar results are observed in relation to the fight against discrimination in the workplace. Only 3.5% of workers said they had experienced discrimination, and for those born abroad this percentage rises to 16.1%. The percentage of second-generation immigrants who declare themselves victims of discrimination is lower (5.7%), but almost double the corresponding percentage (2.5%) for people born in Greece, themselves and their parents.

It is noted that Greek language proficiency significantly correlates with the employment status and education level of persons born abroad. The unemployment rate among people with only basic or elementary knowledge of the Greek language is almost twice as high as among people with a fair or excellent knowledge of the language. Accordingly, the employment rate is much higher among people with a good knowledge of the Greek language. With regard to the level of education, it is noted that the lowest level of knowledge of the Greek language usually corresponds to a lower level of education. Also, the level of knowledge of the Greek language is directly related to the years of residence in Greece.

If you study the level of knowledge of the Greek language in relation to the age of arrival in Greece, you can see that the younger the age of arrival, the better the knowledge of the Greek language. The percentage of people with basic or elementary knowledge of the language is 0.7% for people who came to Greece between the ages of 0 and 5, and more than ten times (9.8%) for people who came aged 18 and over.

Satisfactory language proficiency is associated with significantly lower levels of discrimination in the workplace. One in four people with a basic or minimal knowledge of Greek experienced some form of discrimination, while this only applies to 1 in 6 in the case of people with at least a fair knowledge of the language. Satisfactory knowledge of the language is associated with an increase in course attendance. A significant percentage of people with basic knowledge of Greek (42.4%) did not attend language courses due to the cost or lack of appropriate courses.

In terms of the number of immigrants and their direct descendants, of the total number of people aged 15 to 74 surveyed, it is estimated that 93.1% were born in Greece and 6.8% were born abroad. People with an immigrant background make up 9.5% (of which 6.8% were born abroad and 2.7% were born in Greece and one or both of their parents lived abroad).

Looking at the main countries of origin, combined with the year of entry into Greece, it can be seen that before 1989 most immigrants came from countries with a significant presence of Greek immigrants (European countries, countries of the former USSR), and since 1989 the main source of immigration is Albania , followed by the countries of the former USSR and the rest of the Balkans. Since 2010, the local population in Greece has been “diluted” by immigrants from other European and Asian countries.

The percentage of women is higher in both groups with an immigrant background. While among people who were born themselves as well as their parents in Greece, the percentage of women and men is almost equal. In terms of age, the average age of people born abroad is only slightly higher than the average age of non-immigrants. In contrast, the second-generation immigrant population is much younger than people who themselves and both their parents were born in Greece (30.2 years versus 45.9 years).

In particular, the 35-44 age group outnumbers those born abroad, while the percentage of people aged 15-24 is particularly low. People born in Greece (and with Greek parents) tend to be older. In contrast, the population born in Greece but at least one of whose parents was born abroad is especially young, with over 70% being under 35 years of age.

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