Exploring the nexus between immigration, integration and labour market outcomes

Categories: Social mobility & inclusion, Employment & the economy, Impact

14 October 2026 Written by Ezgi Kaya

Research summary

Immigrants are an important part of the UK workforce, yet relatively little is known about how their labour market experiences compare with those of UK-born workers. This research used the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) linked to 2011 Census dataset to examine how labour market outcomes differ between immigrant and UK-born employees, as well as how these outcomes are shaped by integration and length of residence in the UK. This work was funded through an ADR UK Research Fellowship.

The research has helped improve understanding of labour market inequalities experienced by immigrants in the UK and informed policy discussions on integration and employment. Ongoing engagement with policymakers, third-sector organisations, and migration experts is helping ensure that the findings generate real-world impact. The project has also demonstrated the value of linked administrative data for understanding complex social issues, helping to shape future data resources and build research capacity across the UK.

Data used

The research used the ASHE–2011 Census linked dataset, which links payroll records with census data to provide detailed information on employees' labour market outcomes, demographic characteristics, and country of birth.

Data reference: Office for National Statistics [ONS]. (2023). Released 03 July 2023, ONS SRS Metadata Catalogue, dataset, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings linked to 2011 Census – England and Wales. DOI: https://doi.org/10.57906/80f7-te97.

Methods used

Analysis compared pay, weekly hours, occupational skill level, and contract type between immigrant (non-UK-born) and UK-born employees. The large sample size made it possible to examine differences across subgroups of immigrants. For example, immigrants were grouped by years of residence, with recent immigrants (less than ten years of residence) compared to long-term immigrants. The linked employer–employee structure further allowed analysis of how much of the observed differences reflected where immigrants worked, and how much remained when comparing employees within the same employer.

The analysis followed four stages:

Regression models and decomposition techniques were used with 2011 cross-sectional data to measure labour market gaps and assess how far they could be explained by characteristics such as education or region.
The linked employer–employee structure was utilised to quantify the contribution of employers, distinguishing overall gaps from within-employer differences.
Integration-related factors such as English proficiency and UK passport holding were incorporated to assess how these shaped immigrant outcomes.
The longitudinal element of ASHE tracked de-identified individuals from 2011 to 2018, providing insights into whether immigrant outcomes converged with those of UK-born employees over time.

Alongside the quantitative analysis, the project also embedded a continuous engagement strategy, by establishing an Advisory Board. The Board brought together representatives from a number of sectors and ensured that the work remained relevant to policy and practice.

Research findings

Recent immigrants experience poorer labour market outcomes

Recent immigrants (less than 10 years of residence) earn less, work longer hours, and are more likely to hold low-skilled or temporary jobs (Figure 1). In contrast, long-term immigrants exhibit similar outcomes to those of UK-born employees. Further analysis reveals varying gaps across immigrant groups, reflecting potential differences in outside options and cultural norms.

Figure 1. Differences in Labour Market Outcomes Between UK-Born Employees and Recent Immigrants (click to expand)

Top left (Hourly pay): Hourly pay gap between UK-born employees and recent immigrants. The unadjusted raw gap (represented by the orange bars) shows recent immigrants earn 7.8% less per hour. When comparing workers with similar qualifications and backgrounds through the adjusted gap (represented by the blue-green bars), recent immigrants still face a 3.9% pay penalty.

Top right (Weekly paid hours): Weekly paid hours comparison. Recent immigrants work longer hours than UK-born employees. The unadjusted raw gap (orange bars) is 5.5%, and when looking at the adjusted gap (blue-green bars) for similar job types and backgrounds, recent immigrants still work 4.9% more hours per week.

Bottom left (Probability of employment in low-skilled occupations): Likelihood of being employed in low-skilled occupations. Recent immigrants are significantly more likely to work in low-skilled jobs. The unadjusted raw gap (orange bars) is 11.4 percentage points, and after accounting for qualifications and background via the adjusted gap (blue-green bars), recent immigrants remain 10.4 percentage points more likely to be in low-skilled roles than comparable UK-born workers.

Bottom right (Probability of temporary employment): Likelihood of holding temporary employment contracts. Recent immigrants face less job security. The unadjusted raw gap (orange bars) is 7.3 percentage points, which drops to a 3.0 percentage point higher likelihood when looking at the adjusted gap (blue-green bars) after accounting for worker characteristics.

Workplace differences only partly explain labour market inequalities

Observed gaps between recent immigrants and UK-born employees can be partly attributed to differences in where they work. However, inequalities within employers also play a significant role, with considerable differences remaining in all outcomes when comparing co-workers with similar characteristics.

Integration narrows but does not eliminate labour market gaps

Factors related to immigration and integration help narrow the gaps in labour market outcomes but do not fully account for the disparities. Recent immigrants who are proficient in English, or hold a UK passport, have narrower gaps compared to UK-born employees. Nevertheless, significant disparities persist for all these groups, both across and within employers.

Labour market outcomes improve slowly over time

The probability of immigrants being employed in low-skilled or temporary jobs tends to converge with that of UK-born employees after arrival, but this convergence is relatively slow. There is limited evidence of convergence in hourly pay and weekly hours, with substantial gaps remaining even after 10 years since arrival.

Research impact

The project has generated outcomes across policy, practice, public understanding, and the data infrastructure itself.

This project demonstrated strong public engagement throughout. From the outset, an Advisory Board was created comprising representatives from leading policy, research and voluntary and community sector organisations, including the Bevan Foundation, British Future, Migrant Help, Migrants’ Rights Network, the Migration Observatory and the Trades Union Congress. By helping to shape the research and its dissemination, the Board ensured the work addressed real-world challenges and maximised its relevance to policy and practice. Ongoing engagement with Board members continues to support the translation of the findings into evidence-based discussions on immigration, integration, and labour market inequalities.

This wider collaboration also fostered closer work specifically with British Future. A co-produced external policy briefing and co-hosted Informing Policy webinar at Cardiff University brought together policymakers and supported the translation of the research into policy discussions and practice. Further dissemination events, such as the Work, Pensions and Labour Economics Study Group Annual Conference, involved representatives from the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data Annual Conference was attended by representatives from the Welsh Government. This engagement ensured that findings fed into ongoing policy conversations.

The project has also strengthened the UK's administrative data and research community. Collaboration with the ONS and the Wage and Employment Dynamics (WED) project team contributed to dataset and documentation development, with ongoing involvement in the WED Academic Advisory Board helping shape the forthcoming ASHE-Census 2021 linkage. The project also built research capacity through engagement with new users of the data, including PhD students, as well as through mentoring new ADR UK Research Fellows. Collaboration with an ADR UK intern resulted in a young person’s summary of the research. Further knowledge exchange and public engagement was achieved at the Cardiff Workshop on the Economics of Migration in October 2024 which brought together academics, practitioners, and students.

Research outputs

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