Abstract
The 2004 and 2007 EU enlargement has led to a significant increase in the immigration flow to Spain. Individuals from the new EU12 countries accounted for no more than 10% of the whole Spanish immigrant population in 2004, but by 2008 they accounted for almost 20% of the total flow of immigrants. Immigrants from Bulgaria, Poland and Romania have accounted for 97% of new EU12 immigrants since 2008. These immigrants are younger, and the vast majority of them are educated to the secondary level. Their employment rate is higher than that of natives, but they are hit harder by unemployment. Our results point to two conclusions from a policy prospective: first, EU enlargement has significantly improved legal immigration from new EU12 countries. Second, the lack of employment assimilation in terms of job quality for workers from the new EU12 countries may discourage the entrance of highly qualified workers. The Spanish authorities should provide on-the-job training for these qualified workers, so that they can find adequate job prospects in Spain and decide to stay.
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© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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de la Rica, S. (2009). The Experience of Spain with the Inflows of New Labor Migrants. In: Kahanec, M., Zimmermann, K. (eds) EU Labor Markets After Post-Enlargement Migration. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02242-5_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02242-5_5
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