Even worse than the undocumented? Assessing the refugees’ integration in the labour market of Lombardy (Italy) in 2001–2014

Livia Elisa Ortensi,Elena Ambrosetti

doi:10.1111/imig.12884

Livia Elisa Ortensi, Elena Ambrosetti

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12884

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Abstract

AbstractThe paper aimed to assess possible gaps in labour market integration or refugees compared with other migrants, including irregular migrants in the Italian region of Lombardy in 2001–2014. Despite the Italian labour market's remarkable capacity to integrate foreign workers, our findings support the results of studies carried out in other contexts on a ‘refugee gap’ in labour market integration. Our research shows that refugees have more considerable difficulties integrating into the labour market than other migrants and notably compared with their co‐nationals, including those undocumented that may be in refugee‐like situations. Refugees show higher unemployment levels, irregular employment and a higher incidence of very low monthly work‐related incomes compared with other regular migrants. At the same time, they show higher levels of unemployment compared with irregular migrants.

Highlights

The refugee gap Immigrants’ employment is one of the most researched areas in the field of integration (De Haas et al, 2019; Panichella, 2018; Scholten et al, 2015)
Research has repeatedly documented the existence of a gap in the labour market integration of refugees compared with other migrants (Bakker et al, 2017; Bauer et al, 2017; Bevelander, 2011; Cangiano, 2014; Connor, 2010; Delaporte & Piracha, 2018; Ruiz & Vargas-Silva, 2018)
We focused on the years from 2001 to 2014 to assess the integration of refugees that mostly came to Italy before the 2014–2017 refugee crisis

Summary

Introduction

The refugee gap Immigrants’ employment is one of the most researched areas in the field of integration (De Haas et al, 2019; Panichella, 2018; Scholten et al, 2015). Previous research in the United States, Australia, Canada and northern and continental Europe has repeatedly underlined that refugees face substantial difficulties in the process of labour market integration compared with other categories of immigrants Connor (2010) has defined such difficulties in terms of both entrance in the labour market and earning compared with other immigrants’ categories as ‘refugee gap’. Both personal characteristics of refugees and host country-specific characteristics are responsible for refugees’ penalization (Bevelander, 2016; Rengs et al, 2017)

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