Labour mobility has returned to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.

The annual report on intra-EU labour mobility provides comprehensive insights into developments in labour mobility within the European Member States as well as Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Switzerland. The analysis focuses on the mobility of all working-age EU citizens (between 20 and 64 years). The study is based on the latest available data from 2022 and 2023. Focus is particularly on the mobility of employees in the healthcare sector. This also includes a review of developments right from 2017 when the healthcare sector was last analysed in more detail. The key finding of the report is that labour mobility will have returned to pre-pandemic levels by 2023. The lack of affordable housing is also identified as a significant obstacle to mobility.

Ten million mobile EU citizens of working age

Overall, the number of EU citizens of working age who live and work in another Member State has remained relatively constant over the last five years. In 2023, the number of people was around 10.1 million - an increase of two per cent over 2022. The increase in labour mobility that began in 2021 continued in 2022 and returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2023. The increase in immigration by non-EU citizens, which doubled between 2021 and 2022 and totalled 3.3 million people in 2022, is remarkable. This development is probably due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

Germany is one of the most important target countries

The most important countries of origin and destination have remained largely constant over the years. Romania remains at the top of the list of countries of origin with around 25 per cent, followed by Poland with twelve per cent and Italy with nine per cent. In terms of destination countries, the largest proportion of mobile EU citizens of working age (3.4 million people) - more than 34 per cent - live in Germany, further consolidating its status as the leading destination country in 2023. At 40 per cent, Luxembourg had the highest proportion of mobile EU citizens in relation to the total population.

Housing  – a major obstacle to mobility

Analysing the social situation of mobile EU citizens shows that access to affordable housing plays a crucial role. 19 per cent of newcomers say they are overburdened by housing costs, compared to only eight per cent of the corresponding national population. This has a direct impact on the willingness to move to other EU countries.

Gender gaps in labour market integration

At 78 per cent, the employment rate of mobile EU citizens of working age is slightly higher than that of the domestic population (76 per cent). However, the integration of mobile female EU-citizens into the labour market remains low. At 14 per cent, their employment rate is lower than that of male mobile EU-citizens. At 28 percentage points, the gender gap in part-time employment is even more pronounced. The gender gap in the domestic population is only 20 percentage points. 

Mobility in the healthcare sector is female

It is different in the healthcare sector. Most of the skilled workers here are women. Between 2017 and 2023, the proportion of women among domestic skilled workers was around 80 per cent. In the case of employees who moved from EU countries, the proportion of women during this period was as high as 90 to 94 per cent.

The report also points out the increasing age of healthcare employees. This also applies to employees from EU countries. The proportion of employees aged 45 and over has risen from 51 per cent in 2017 to 62 per cent in 2023.

The report also emphasises that employees in the healthcare sector who have moved from EU countries are more likely to have permanent employment contracts and work full-time despite the higher proportion of women.