Reframing perceptions of immigrants’ desirability in a time of labour shortages: the case of racialised immigrant workers in Denmark

Growing labour shortages are a pressing issue across many European countries. In Denmark, shortages in low-paid occupations such as elderly care, hospitality and agriculture are compelling policymakers and economic actors to confront the undervalued–yet essential–role of these jobs, which highlights the demand for low-paid immigrant workers. Drawing from semi-structured interviews, policy documents, and parliamentary debates, this paper analyses the strategies used by economic and state actors to legitimise or delegitimise the need to recruit low-paid workers from non-EU countries. In so doing, the paper reflects on the role of cultural racism in shaping and reframing immigrants’ desirability in a time of labour shortages. The central argument is that normalised racist discourses have justified restrictive policies targeted at unwanted immigrants. However, in the current context where low-paid foreign workers are demanded by the private and public sectors, racialising discourses serve to rank immigrants on a hierarchy of desirability depending on the perceived ability of different groups to assimilate culturally, and to contribute economically.