Crisis halts work integration for the majority of migrants

The study entitled “Crisis, Empleo e Inmigración en España. Un Análisis de las Trayectorias Laborales” (Crisis, Employment and Migration in Spain. An Analysis of Employment Trajectories) analyses the evolution of the integration of migrant workers during the economic crisis. Their study is based on the total time they were employed in comparison to their national counterparts during the worst years of the crisis and loss of jobs (2007-2011).

Edited as a book by the UAB Publishing Services, the study was presented on 20 January at the Caixaforum in Barcelona. The study, conducted by researchers at the Centre for Sociological Studies on Everyday Life and Work (QUIT) of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), included the support of the “la Caixa” Social Projects and represents the continuation of a previous study in which the analysis focused on how much migrants worked before the economic crisis.

The study confirms the generalised deterioration of working conditions among a large number of migrant workers and a retrogression in their professional careers. The slow convergence of migrant workers before the crisis was halted by high rates of unemployment among the migrant population and a worsening of work conditions. This can be observed by the decline in salary during the period examined by those earning the lowest wages, among which are the majority of migrants.


Differences between Groups and Genders

The intensity and form in which this decline occurred does vary significantly depending on the type of migrant worker. The study shows how men from Morocco and Romania are the ones most affected. There are also significant differences between men and women in the general group of workers and in migrant workers in particular. Indeed, the growth in unemployment rates and worse working conditions affected men and women differently. Women in particular have suffered the crisis less, thanks in part to their greater presence in the service sector. However, they have suffered from significant deterioration in working conditions and greater decreases in salaries.

As a result of this, there is a widening gap between national and migrant workers, in which national workers in the best-off sector make up 48% of workers in comparison to 52% in unployment rates; while migrant communities only reach 35.7% (Peruvians), 34% (Argentinians) in the best cases and 21% among Moroccans and Romanians.


A General Decrease in Income and Working Categories

Decrease in the wages earned are clearly seen among this community. This explains why the Gini index of inequality went from 3.33 in 2007 to 3.46 in 2011. The deterioiration is not only seen in those with employment from 2007 to 2011, but also with the large number of people who have "disappeared" from the long-term unemployment lists, have become inactive, have returned to their country of origin or have taken up informal jobs.


Strategies: Returning, Inactivity, Informality and Mobility

Given the situation these past years, migrant workers have had to employ different strategies. The first, returning or remigrating, is largely chosen by groups such as those from Ecuador. Another option has been finding informal jobs as a way to earn money in very difficult times. Nevertheless, this is not an option taken by many, given the problems related to not being able to obtain a residence permit, nationality, access to some services, etc. Most workers preferred to accept worse working conditions, but still be able to benefit from social security services, which can also explain the greater deterioration seen in the group of migrant workers.

Another option has been to move. There are several factors which make moving difficult, including family or social ties, but the research shows an increase in geographic and sectorial mobility during the period studies. In a time in which many jobs were destroyed, high geographic and sectorial mobility can be explained by the increasing importance of temporary work, which leads to a constant process of destruction and creation.

The results of the research demonstrate the need to develop new employment policies which could help migrant workers. Firstly, the creation of jobs is a necessary condition to improve the situation of this group, given that long-term unemployment has turned into a great obstacle for these workers. Active and passive policies however also need to be reviewed and reconfigured to be able to better combat the problems detailed above. Researchers however consider that the complete opposite is occurring, with a decrease in public spending on unemployment benefits and subsidies, and less money for active policies. Given the volume of long-term employment, the absence of policies to prevent the fall of wages and requalification of workers will make it even more difficult to once again include migrant workers into the workforce, they conclude.

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“Crisis, Ocupación e Inmigración en España. Un Análisis de las Trayectorias Laborales”, financed by the “la Caixa” Social Project and conducted during from 2012 to 2014, was coordinated by Professor Fausto Miguélez and lecturer Pedro López-Roldán and included the participation of QUIT researchers Ramon Alós, Antonio Martín Artiles, Óscar Molina, Sara Moreno and Alejandro Godino.