Obstacles and Facilitators of Long-Term Economic Integration of Immigrants in the UK Labour Market

Michael Mahony , University of Liverpool
Francisco Rowe, University of Liverpool

International migration represents a significant challenge and opportunity for destination countries. Understanding how migrants integrate into domestic labour markets, as well as underlying factors which affect this process can promote successful labour market integration that positively impacts both migrant and native workers. This paper examines the integration process by capturing the labour market trajectories of native and migrant workers in the UK using sequence analysis. Drawing on data from Understanding Society and the British Household Panel Survey between 1991-2020, we identify seven representative occupational pathways that dominate the life-course of both foreign- and UK-born workers. A series of multinomial regression models are then applied to determine key individual, household and contextual factors associated with workers adopting different economic pathways. Our initial results reveal remarkable stability across all seven occupational pathways identified, suggesting that UK migrants experience relatively stable employment patterns over the long-term. The dominant pathway across all migrant groups is stable full-time employment. Male migrants from Europe and English-speaking countries are more likely to adopt pathways of stable self-employment, whilst those from Pakistan and Bangladesh are more likely to be part-time employed or not working. Female migrants are more likely to be part-time employed or focused full-time on family responsibilities. This is most true for women from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Our regression analysis has not been finalized. However, initial results indicate relatively small differences in the outcomes of UK- and foreign-born workers, after controlling for a wide range of individual, household and contextual variables.

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 Presented in Session 39. Migrant Populations