Immigrants and the labour markets Experiences from abroad and Finland Elli Heikkilä (ed.) Copyright @ Publisher & Authors Publisher: Migration Institute of Finland – http://www.migrationinstitute.fi Publications 17 Cover photo: FreeImages.com/Margan Zajdowicz (#1435539) ISBN 978-952-7167-39-7 (printed) ISBN 978-952-7167-40-3 (eBook) ISSN 2343-3507 (printed) ISSN 2343-3515 (eBook) Painosalama Oy, Turku, Finland 2017 Contents 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 5 – Elli Heikkilä 2. Impacts of immigration on labour markets: A theoretical appraisal ...................11 – Milan Palát I Experiences from abroad 3. Chinese traders in Senegal: Trade networks and business organisation ...........41 – Daouda Cissé 4. The UK labour market and immigration: What a difference ten years makes ...........................................................................61 – Ian Fitzgerald and Rafał Smoczyński 5. Immigrants’ settlement and participation in the Norwegian labour markets since the turn of the millennium ...............................................................76 – Lasse Sigbjørn Stambøl 6. Social assistance among immigrants and natives in Sweden, 1950–1968 ......106 – Daniel Rauhut II Experiences from Finland 7. Immigrants in the Finnish labour market and future needs in an ageing society ..................................................................................................129 – Elli Heikkilä 8. Perceived challenges and barriers to employment: The experiences of university-educated Taiwanese women in Finland .............................................. 161 – Chia-Chien Chang and Gunilla Holm 9. The role of social networks in diverse work communities ................................. 177 – Aini Pehkonen – 3 – 10. Understanding economic integration and the belongingness of immigrants in Lapland: An analysis of hope and happiness ..........................195 – Nafisa Yeasmin 11. Contemporary labour diaspora: The Finnish challenges for migration and human resource flows ..................................................................................... 209 – Maria Elo Contributors ......................................................................................................................238 Index ...................................................................................................................................242 – 4 – Elli Heikkilä Introduction The international migrant stock in the world was approximately 244 million peo- ple in 2015, which accounts for three percent of the world’s population (United Nations 2016). The migrant stock is increasing year by year, and each receiv- ing country must also address the question of how to integrate all newcomers and those who are already living in the country the best possible way. In the European Union, the European Commission has put efforts into disseminating so-called immigrant integration practices among the various Member States, including issues connected to employment and labour markets. The Migra- tion Policy Group in Brussels is currently coordinating a European Web Site on Integration (EWSI), which includes migrant integration information and good practices (European Web Site on Integration 2017). The focus of this edited book on Immigrants and the labour markets: Ex- periences from abroad and Finland is the position of immigrants in the labour markets, since this is a central indicator of the social status of immigrants and ethnic groups. Employment is thus the foundation for the successful integra- tion of both immigrants and natives. What has often been raised in research on and discussions of the issue in societies is the fact that it is more difficult for immigrants to find a job, especially a job that corresponds to their educational background, than it is for the native population. As a result, the former often have significantly higher unemployment rates than the latter. This is naturally connected to economic cycles, which affect the demands for labour during both boom times and recessions. It is also generally acknowledged that it is, for example, difficult for an employer to evaluate a person’s qualifications when an accredited certification is not available or when the certificate is from a foreign country. Fortunately, it is increasingly possible to match the needs of various labour markets with an immigrant’s educational background. Researchers have also found that there is strong competition for skilled labour between the different countries and for future labour pools, such as international degree students (see Laine 2016). Aging populations is the main reason for the diminishing supply of labour in developed countries. For example, there will be a remarkable change in the population structure in Finland when the baby boomer generation born after World War II begins to retire in the next few years. The share of elderly people is – 5 – Introduction growing, increasing the dependency ratio both now and in the future. The de- pendency ratio is an age-population ratio measuring those typically not in the labour force and those typically in the labor force. Finland is not the only country to struggle with this development trend: populations throughout Europe and North America are ageing as well as in Japan (see Elliott & Kollewe 2011). Canada, a country long considered an attractive place for immigrants, is just one example of a country that needs more immigrants for its labour markets. According to a new report (Canada immigration newsletter 2016), increasing the Canadian population will “cushion the impact” of the economic consequences of a large aging population and that inviting more immigrants to enter the work- force will boost Canada’s labour force and generate stronger long-term economic growth. Economic growth may be strengthened in the long term because inviting qualified, working-age individuals to enter the country will provide a faster and effective solution to the shrinking pool of workers. With current demographic trends, many countries will come to increasingly rely on immigrants as a source of labour. Discussions focus mainly on the need for skilled workers; however, the future demand for labour will most likely relate to all skill categories (Heik- kilä & Pikkarainen 2008; see also El-Cherkeh 2009). The purpose of this edited book is to look at labour issues and immigration from different perspectives as well as other specific themes from a wide range of viewpoints, including theoretical and empirical analyses. The chapters high- light immigrant experiences both from abroad and from Finland. The book will refer to the various authors by their surnames and with capital letters, such as RAUHUT or STAMBØL. The following paragraphs briefly present the structure of the book and the different articles, mentioning some of the essential themes being addressed. Chapter 2, written by MILAN PALÁT, provides a specific theoretical ap- proach. It describes migration causes from different theoretical perspectives. This exploration of the theoretical links between migration and its causes and consequences can significantly facilitate an understanding of the issues and decision making affecting migration patterns and policies. However, none of the existing theories, as Palát states, can fully explain the complex issue of mi- gration. He recommends instead focusing on the complementarity between already existing theories by conducting a critical empirical investigation of selected theoretical postulates. Chapter 3, by DAOUDA CISSÉ, studies the growing relationship between China and African countries and his special analysis deals with African-Chi- nese traders in Senegal. The chapter thus shows the growing economic links in Africa-China relations, which also have an effect on international migration and globalisation. Cissé explores the growing presence of Chinese traders in Dakar, with a particular focus on their trade networks, business organisation – 6 – Elli Heikkilä and contributions to socio-economic developments in Senegal and China as well as the difficulties and challenges they face in Senegal. When the European Union added ten new countries in 2004 (the so-called EU10), Poland was one of those new member states. Subsequently, many Polish workers migrated to the UK for its labour markets. IAN FITZGERALD and RAFAL SMOCZYŃSKI highlight, in Chapter 4, the extent of Polish migration to the UK and its impact at a local level as well as the movement of workers through the Posting of Workers Directive (PWD). Their conclusions are that foreign workers have often been treated poorly both with regard to employment conditions and because of xenophobia. However, they conclude that Polish and other foreign workers are far from being just victims or a burden on society; they have in fact provided the UK with economic and social benefits. When looking at the Nordic countries, Norway in particular has long at- tracted labour immigrants. In Chapter 5, LASSE SIGBJØRN STAMBØL shows how important labour pool immigrants have been for the Norwegian regional labour markets since the turn of the millennium. There has thus been a strong increase in the proportion of immigrants employed in the country, especially labour immigrants. Investigations indicate that labour immigrants have been an important resource for filling necessary labour demands at the regional level, especially in the western and south-western parts of Norway, but also