Zürcher Nachrichten - Legal migration to OECD reaches new record in 2023

EUR -
AED 3.847595
AFN 70.955217
ALL 98.129555
AMD 407.873345
ANG 1.877009
AOA 956.396496
ARS 1052.049047
AUD 1.610027
AWG 1.888176
AZN 1.778779
BAM 1.955374
BBD 2.102782
BDT 124.452883
BGN 1.956627
BHD 0.394854
BIF 3076.35906
BMD 1.047532
BND 1.403708
BOB 7.23656
BRL 6.114418
BSD 1.041483
BTN 88.395715
BWP 14.228171
BYN 3.408322
BYR 20531.622365
BZD 2.099283
CAD 1.462931
CDF 3007.463637
CHF 0.932508
CLF 0.03692
CLP 1018.737053
CNY 7.590098
CNH 7.59878
COP 4598.402514
CRC 530.489476
CUC 1.047532
CUP 27.759591
CVE 110.855692
CZK 25.335395
DJF 185.46313
DKK 7.457905
DOP 62.766923
DZD 140.965938
EGP 52.004718
ERN 15.712976
ETB 127.496637
FJD 2.382454
FKP 0.826835
GBP 0.833641
GEL 2.870045
GGP 0.826835
GHS 16.546166
GIP 0.826835
GMD 74.374398
GNF 8977.129671
GTQ 8.084076
GYD 219.097457
HKD 8.151698
HNL 26.318517
HRK 7.472315
HTG 136.711517
HUF 411.800971
IDR 16654.445463
ILS 3.862223
IMP 0.826835
INR 88.266649
IQD 1364.328775
IRR 44074.898841
ISK 145.481021
JEP 0.826835
JMD 165.915433
JOD 0.743012
JPY 161.935842
KES 135.658433
KGS 90.613407
KHR 4193.126388
KMF 494.957723
KPW 942.778181
KRW 1468.838686
KWD 0.322504
KYD 0.867927
KZT 520.016622
LAK 22876.452218
LBP 93263.459457
LKR 303.119741
LRD 189.027228
LSL 18.793764
LTL 3.093089
LVL 0.633642
LYD 5.085989
MAD 10.535438
MDL 18.996224
MGA 4861.033639
MKD 61.641022
MMK 3402.342273
MNT 3559.512841
MOP 8.35024
MRU 41.439366
MUR 49.056254
MVR 16.194626
MWK 1805.940983
MXN 21.368218
MYR 4.674611
MZN 66.947912
NAD 18.793764
NGN 1768.715105
NIO 38.322016
NOK 11.58104
NPR 140.650696
NZD 1.79238
OMR 0.403283
PAB 1.04728
PEN 3.94914
PGK 4.193126
PHP 61.827942
PKR 289.212844
PLN 4.334985
PYG 8130.3837
QAR 3.819351
RON 4.976436
RSD 117.00301
RUB 108.876923
RWF 1421.703797
SAR 3.932779
SBD 8.78204
SCR 15.752477
SDG 630.091354
SEK 11.518303
SGD 1.411093
SHP 0.826835
SLE 23.810185
SLL 21966.222062
SOS 595.175999
SRD 37.181136
STD 21681.792335
SVC 9.113188
SYP 2631.954808
SZL 18.787265
THB 36.265313
TJS 11.15323
TMT 3.666361
TND 3.327129
TOP 2.453421
TRY 36.221028
TTD 7.073459
TWD 34.008644
TZS 2775.959214
UAH 43.086435
UGX 3869.619193
USD 1.047532
UYU 44.537316
UZS 13361.088752
VES 48.47434
VND 26633.494828
VUV 124.365075
WST 2.92428
XAF 655.820364
XAG 0.034027
XAU 0.000392
XCD 2.831007
XDR 0.792243
XOF 655.820364
XPF 119.331742
YER 261.804392
ZAR 18.924922
ZMK 9429.03573
ZMW 28.770281
ZWL 337.304797
  • NGG

    1.0296

    63.11

    +1.63%

  • BCC

    3.4200

    143.78

    +2.38%

  • GSK

    0.2600

    33.96

    +0.77%

  • BTI

    0.4000

    37.38

    +1.07%

  • RIO

    -0.2200

    62.35

    -0.35%

  • AZN

    1.3700

    65.63

    +2.09%

  • CMSC

    0.0320

    24.672

    +0.13%

  • CMSD

    0.0150

    24.46

    +0.06%

  • SCS

    0.2300

    13.27

    +1.73%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    13.21

    -0.15%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    6.79

    -0.15%

  • RBGPF

    59.2400

    59.24

    +100%

  • BP

    0.2000

    29.72

    +0.67%

  • BCE

    0.0900

    26.77

    +0.34%

  • VOD

    0.1323

    8.73

    +1.52%

  • RELX

    0.9900

    46.75

    +2.12%

Legal migration to OECD reaches new record in 2023
Legal migration to OECD reaches new record in 2023 / Photo: ERIC PIERMONT - AFP/File

Legal migration to OECD reaches new record in 2023

Migration to richer countries reached a record level for the second year running in 2023, the OECD said on Thursday, reflecting demand for foreign labour and gaps in the workforce left by ageing populations.

Text size:

A total 6.5 million permanent migrants settled last year in the 38 countries making up the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, up 10 percent on 2022, the organisation said in its International Migration Outlook 2024.

There was also a boom in temporary migrants and people seeking asylum –- many from conflict, persecution or poverty.

"These high flows have fuelled widespread concern about migrants' impact on receiving countries' economies and societies... But they also point to major opportunities," the OECD's employment director Stefano Scarpetta said.

"In many OECD countries facing widespread labour shortages and looming demographic changes, growing numbers of labour migrants have contributed to sustained economic growth."

He pointed out that host countries had "virtually full control" over who they allowed to enter legally, so by increasing possibilities for "regular, orderly, and safe migration", they could be able to better manage irregular flows of people.

The United States -- whose president-elect Donald Trump has vowed to deport migrants en masse -- remains the top destination for foreign workers.

It recorded 1.2 million new legal permanent incomers in 2023, the highest figure since 2006.

About a third of OECD countries witnessed record legal migration last year, including Britain (747,000 arrivals), Canada (472,000), France (298,000), Japan (155,000) and Switzerland (144,500).

Migrant numbers dropped in another third -- namely in Denmark, Estonia, Israel, Italy, Lithuania and New Zealand.

- Gig economy jobs -

Much of the increase was due to people arriving to join families already legally established in OECD countries (43 percent) -- possibly an aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic which delayed family reunifications, closed borders and led to stricter entrance requirements.

There was also a 20-percent increase in 2023 in foreigners afforded rights of residence for legitimate humanitarian reasons, the report said.

Of the 650,000 refugees officially given protection in OECD states, many were fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Migration for work remained stable last year.

The OECD said migrants were increasingly finding salaried jobs.

But this was not the case for all of them and many migrants set up their own businesses in order to earn a stable income.

In 2022, for example, 17 percent of all self-employed workers in the OECD were legal migrants, up from 11 percent in 2006.

That said, business enterprises created by migrants –- particularly via digital platforms that are relatively cheap to set up and make it relatively easy to access customers -- led to nearly four million new jobs between 2011 and 2021, it said.

However, it added, migrant workers were more likely than locally born people to be in insecure jobs, such as in the gig economy, or to be classed as "self-employed" by the companies for whom they work.

That meant that in many cases they did jobs similar to those of salaried employees but enjoyed none of the benefits afforded to the latter.

W.O.Ludwig--NZN