Non-Western immigrants continue to make inroads in the labor market: surpassing Danish men in 11 municipalities
According to a press release just published by Ritzau, a new analysis by SME Denmark shows that men of non-Western migration origin (the vast majority from Arab and Muslim countries) now have a higher employment rate than Danish men in 11 municipalities (listed at the end of this article), and in three municipalities, non-Western women have a higher employment rate than Danish women. Read more after the announcement.
Job opportunities for people with non-Western migration backgrounds have increased significantly in recent years. A new analysis from SME Denmark shows that the group now outperforms people of Danish origin in a growing number of municipalities.
Overall, men of non-Western migrant origin have a higher employment rate than Danish men in 11 of the country's municipalities. In three municipalities, the proportion of non-Western women in employment is now also higher than that of Danish women.
It's no secret that non-Western immigrants, as a group, have historically struggled to establish themselves in the labor market. But the situation is changing, and developments are moving in the right direction. This is truly positive. In a growing number of municipalities, we are now seeing more men and women of non-Western origin in jobs than people of Danish origin. It's a remarkable shift, says Thomas Gries, chief economist at SME Denmark. Read more after the image.
This trend is widespread in remote municipalities but is also emerging in the capital region.
It is observed mainly in municipalities located in peripheral regions that the employment rate of non-Western immigrant men is higher than that of men of Danish origin. In the municipalities of Lolland, Vesthimmerlands, and Rebild, the difference is 6.7, 6.1, and 5.6 percentage points, respectively.
But in the municipalities of Ishøj and Gladsaxe, the number of working non-Western immigrant men has become higher than the number of Danish men.
SME Denmark conducted a similar analysis last year, and it is worth noting that this development is now also being observed in the capital region.
Among women, the municipality of Ærø has the highest rate of employment of non-Western immigrant women compared to Danish women, with a difference of 8.3 percentage points. This is followed by Læsø and Lemvig, where the difference is 4.3 and 0.2 percentage points respectively.
Ten years of great progress
Since 2015, the employment rate has increased by 18.7 percentage points for men with a non-Western immigrant background and by 15 percentage points for women with the same background.
In 2015, the employment gap between Danes and non-Western Danes was significant: 20.7 percentage points for men and 24.3 percentage points for women. Today, ten years later, this gap has been almost halved. The difference is 6.7 percentage points for men and 12.5 percentage points for women.
At a time when labor shortages pose a significant challenge to our companies, increasing employment opportunities among non-Western immigrants is crucial. Thomas Grace says, “Many municipalities in remote areas today are entirely dependent on non-Western immigration.”.
However, the potential is much greater. Thomas Grace says:
The direction is right, but we are still far from our goal. We still have too many non-Western immigrants living here who are outside the labor market. The political focus should be on attracting more people to work. We also want the policy to make it easier to hire international staff with the right skills and to remove the bureaucratic obstacles that can make this difficult, or even impossible, for many small businesses.
The top 11 municipalities where non-Western immigrant men outperform men of Danish origin, with the difference measured in percentage points:
Bornholm – 0.1
Lolland – 6.7
Vesthimmerlands – 6.1
Rebild – 5.6
Læsø – 4.5
Langeland – 3.3
Lemvig – 2.7
Morsø – 2.6
Vordingborg – 2,3
Ishøj – 1,2
Gladsaxe – 0.2
