The 5th ADBI-OECD-ILO Roundtable on

Labour Migration in Asia

Building Effective Structures and
Institutions for Migration Governance
28-30 JANUARY 2015, SHANGHAI, PRC

Jonathan Chaloff
International Migration Division
Directorate for Employment Labour and Social Affairs
OECD
The views expressed in this presentation are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the
views or policies of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), the Asian Development Bank (ADB),
its Board of Directors, or the governments they represent. ADBI does not guarantee the accuracy of the
data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequences of their use. Terminology
used may not necessarily be consistent with ADB official terms.

Recent trends in migration flows

and policies in OECD countries

The migration landscape in the OECD is changing

Evolution of international migration flows since 2000 (=100)
Total

Settlement countries

Germany

Spain - Italy

Other Europe

Spain - Italy

Index 2000=100

250

200
Other Europe

Total

150

Settlement countries
100
Germany
50

Note: Settlement countries include Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.
Other Europe includes all European OECD countries apart from Germany, Italy and Spain.
3

Free mobility is the driver of changes in

migration flows

Permanent immigration in OECD countries by category, 2007-2013 (millions)

Millions

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013 (estimates)

1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0

Work

Accompanying
family of workers

Family

Humanitarian

Other

Free movements

while other types of migration are stable or

decreasing

Movements to the OECD from Asia

remain large and increasing
Immigration flows from Asian to OECD countries
Immigration into OECD countries
(thousands)

2007

2009

2011

2012

% of total OECD
inflows
2012

PRC

519.9

462.9

531.1

506.6

9.6

India

213.5

228.7

242.7

227.7

4.3

Philippines

169.0

164.5

160.8

159.4

3.0

Viet Nam

88.6

77.0

94.7

93.6

1.8

Pakistan

74.7

76.9

105.9

85.8

1.6

Republic of Korea

71.9

78.6

71.0

70.4

1.3

Thailand

48.1

47.3

53.4

58.5

1.1

Bangladesh

34.7

51.0

49.7

41.8

0.8

Japan

32.3

35.5

33.7

35.7

0.7

Sri Lanka

20.7

33.5

35.7

34.1

0.6

Nepal

17.3

23.5

30.1

33.3

0.6

Indonesia

26.7

22.5

28.6

30.3

0.6

Myanmar

9.6

22.6

23.7

27.5

0.5

1327.1

1324.5

1461.0

1404.5

25.9

Origin country

Total of the
above

Source: OECD International Migration Database

 although they are smaller than migration for

employment from Asian countries to non-OECD
economies
Labour migration flows from selected Asian countries to non-OECD economies

Source: National authorities of the countries concerned.

Asian migrants are concentrated in few

OECD destination countries
Emigrants 15+ (left scale)
Share among total immigrant population (right scale)

Inflows (left scale)

Share in total immigration (right scale)

Thousands

Thousands

8 000

80

400

80

7 000

70

350

70

6 000

60

300

60

5 000

50

250

50

4 000

40

200

40

3 000

30

150

30

2 000

20

100

20

1 000

10

50

10

United
States

Canada

United
Kingdom

Australia

Japan

United
States

Korea

United
Kingdom

Japan

Canada

Among the highly educated recent

migrants, Asians are the largest group

Millions

Number of highly educated immigrants who arrived in OECD countries since 2005
by origin (2010/2011)
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0

Increasing student mobility

Rest of the world

Millions

OECD

1.1
0.6

0.5
1.6
2000

3.4

2.4
2006

Double numbers between 2000 and 2012.

3.4 million foreign students enrolled in an
OECD country in 2012. 75% of all foreign
students in the world.

2012

25
20

2008

15
10
5
0

2012

More than half of

international students in
OECD countries come from
Asia.
PRC alone represents 22%.
the share of Asian students
rose from 49% to 52% from
2005-2011.
9

Source: OECD Education Database.

Recent trends in labour

outcomes of immigrants
in OECD countries

Persisting large unemployment gaps in Europe

Unemployment rates by gender and place of birth - EU, USA, 2008-2013

European Union
Native-born

United States

Immigrants

Native-born
18

16
14
5,8pp

12
10
8

4,1pp

6
4

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Unemployment rate (%)

Unemployment rate (%)

18

Immigrants

16
14
12
10
8
60,4pp
4

2008

Source: EU Labour Force Surveys (European Union) and Current Population Surveys (United States).

-0,4pp
2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Asian-born have employment rates which are higher than others

in the EU and in the US, but not in Australia or the UK
Employment rate for native and foreign-born in selected OECD countries,
2009-2013, percentages
Employment rate 2009

Employment rate 2013

80
70
60
50
40
30
20

Australia

United States

EU-28

Source: OECD International Migration Outlook 2013

United Kingdom

Asian-born

Foreign-born

Native-born

Asian-born

Foreign-born

Native-born

Asian-born

Foreign-born

Native-born

Asian-born

Foreign-born

Native-born

10

The unemployment rate for Asian-born residents have been

falling in OECD countries, sometimes faster than for other
migrants and natives
Unemployment rate for native and foreign-born in selected OECD countries,
2009-2013, percentages
Unemployment rate 2009

Unemployment rate 2013

18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4

Australia

United States

EU-28

Source: OECD International Migration Outlook 2013

United Kingdom

Asian-born

Foreign-born

Native-born

Asian-born

Foreign-born

Native-born

Asian-born

Foreign-born

Native-born

Asian-born

Foreign-born

Native-born

Developments in
migration policies
in OECD countries

Policy developments
Trend towards expression of interest
systems in countries with backlogs and high
levels of demand
EU efforts to increase demand for, and use of,
Blue Card for educated and skilled workers
US immigration reform
Asian efforts to increase students, target top
talent
Investor visas

Thank you for your attention.

www.oecd.org/migration