Working Migrants Valued for Their Economic Contribution

A Summary of the Findings of an Online Study Carried out in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain and Sweden

Understanding how EU citizens perceive working migrants is important for policymakers aiming to manage migration both from within and without the bloc. An online study commissioned by the Martens Centre in 7 EU countries shows that despite being preselected to achieve a balance of views on migration in general, most respondents across the countries surveyed expressed positive views about the economic contributions of those migrants who are working. Also, irrespective of their general views on migration, a large majority of respondents believe that migrant workers fill jobs that the locals do not want to perform, as opposed to taking jobs away from natives. There was a split across political values, with a large proportion of respondents with supranational values expressing the belief that working migrants contribute positively to the national economy, while among those with national values only a smaller majority did so. On average, a small majority of participants felt positive about general government policies to encourage labour immigration, although beliefs on this matter varied significantly between countries.

To read the original technical report by Verian, click here.

Download the publication