Integration of Recently Arrived Migrants in the Swiss Labour Market – Do the Reasons for Migration Matter?

Abstract

This chapter aims at measuring the extent to which the subjective reasons of immigration impact on the level and the pace of structural integration, defined as the participation in the labour market. The analysis not only considers primary migrants but also accompanying spouses and distinguishes between migrants regarding their country of origin and level of education. Based on the Migration-Mobility Survey data, the author uses not only descriptive statistics but also logistic regressions models to better understand the determinants of integration. Results show that migrants consider themselves relatively well integrated in the labour market: in particular, three-quarters of the men and almost two-thirds of the women declare an improvement in their work conditions compared to the situation before the move, their unemployment rate is low, fewer than 20% of migrants do short-term work or work without a contract, and approximately 60% use their skills at work. However, one can observe differences in the level of integration according to the reason for migration. Not only family migrants but also migrants who arrived in Switzerland for other reasons present a lower probability of job satisfaction and a higher risk of underuse of skills compared with those arriving with a work contract. Results also show a gender gap, men being better integrated than women whatever the indicator that is used.