Immigrants in the British labour market

A study published today (9 December 2005) provides a comprehensive picture of the labour market outcomes of immigrant groups in Britain today, and over the last 2 decades, relative to the British-born white population. Drawing on data from the Labour Force Survey over the period from 1979 to 2004, the analysis describes basic features of the foreign-born population in Britain, their allocation to different labour market segments, how their employment and participation probabilities have changed over time and how particular outcomes compare to those of British-born whites. Four indicators of economic performance are investigated in more detail:

(i) Employment,
(ii) labour force participation,
(iii) self-employment,
and (iv) wages.