Immigrant employment in the European Union rose to a record high in 2025, narrowing the gap with workers born in the country but leaving significant labour potential untapped, according to a report from the ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin) seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The employment rate among immigrants increased to 68.2% last year from 67.8% in 2024, according to the study by the Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM) at RFBerlin, based on Eurostat data.
"The proportion of immigrants in employment has been rising for many years, and the figures are close to that of the native population," said Tommaso Frattini, deputy director of CReAM.
The biggest improvement was among non-EU immigrants, whose employment rate increased by 6.6 percentage points from 2017 to 2025, climbing from 59.4% to 66% and narrowing the gap with the native-born population. The employment rate among EU immigrants also increased, from 71.1% to 74.8%. Among those working in their country of birth it rose from 67.2% to 71.6% across the same time period.
But outcomes vary widely. Non-EU immigrant employment is particularly high in Malta, the Czech Republic and Ireland but much lower in Belgium and Finland.
In Germany, the rate stands at 66.1%, compared with 79.6% among natives, the study showed.
The report said remaining gaps are concentrated among non-EU women and highly educated migrants.
"The challenge today is no longer simply getting immigrants into work but ensuring that their skills are fully utilised," said Christian Dustmann, director of RFBerlin.
