Migrant pay gap widens in many high-income countries

Migrants earn nearly 13 per cent on average less than national workers in high-income countries, according to a new International Labour Organization (ILO) report. In some countries such as Cyprus, Italy and Austria the pay gap in hourly wages is higher, at 42 per cent, 30 per cent and 25 per cent respectively. In Finland it is lower than the average, at 11 per cent and in the European Union as a whole it is almost 9 per cent.

In the last five years, the migrant pay gap has widened in some high-income countries: In Italy for example, migrant workers earn 30 per cent less than nationals according to the latest data, compared to 27 per cent in 2015. In Portugal the pay gap is 29 per cent compared to 25 per cent in 2015, and in Ireland 21 per cent compared to 19 per cent in 2015.

However, in all countries they face problems of discrimination and exclusion, which have been aggravated by the