Post-Enlargement Migration and Labor Market Impact in Sweden

Abstract

Sweden was the only country that did not apply any transitional rules for migrants coming from the ten new European Union member states in May 2004. The number of immigrants arriving in Sweden from these countries also increased, especially from Poland and the Baltic states, although not to the same extent as was found in Ireland and the UK (two countries with transitory rules of only minor importance). The composition of the migrants changed compared with that of migrants who had arrived earlier from the same countries. Immigrants are represented in all sectors of the economy but overrepresented in some sectors, and while earlier many more women than men arrived, now the gender composition is much more even. The wages of the new immigrants from EU10 countries, controlling for education and age, are somewhat lower than for those born in Sweden. This contrasts with the wages for new immigrants from EU14 countries being higher than for those for those born in Sweden.