Differences in Labour Market Integration of Refugees in European Countries

 There is insufficient research on the question: why are refugees better integrated in some countries than in others? In addition, there are few comparative studies describing differences in integration outcomes of refugees. This article investigates economic integration across eight European countries, in the year 2008, through the indicators of employment, quality of jobs and overqualification. None of the countries studied demonstrated a high level of economic integration of refugees. In Greece refugee employment opportunities were almost equal to those of natives, but the quality of employment and overqualification rates were much worse. On the contrary, in the UK, the chances of getting a “good job” and rates of skill mismatch are similar, but the probability of refugees finding employment is much lower. Other countries revealed moderate disadvantages for refugees in the labour market, with Norway as a positive outlier. The reasons for these disparities may lie in the variations between types of welfare states, but further research is needed.