Spanish study seeks to shatter myth about immigration and its effect on the labour market

The report from the Spanish financial institution Fedea disproves several commonly held prejudices about immigration

An opinion poll carried out by the instituto 40dB and the state sociological institute CIS show that 57% of Spaniards believe that there are “too many” immigrants in the country, with more than 75 percent associating immigration with negative consequences.

The Fedea study, led by Raquel Carrasco, professor of economics at Universidad Carlos III in Madrid, addresses this contradiction and explains that much of this fear is based on misconceptions.

Carrasco’s report emphasises that there is no clear evidence that immigration leads to poorer job opportunities for the local population. An analysis of the labour market from 2008 showed that immigration has no significant negative effect on employment among natives.

The Fedea report also highlights that immigrants often have shorter periods of unemployment than native Spaniards, especially men.

This is thought to be because immigrants are more pressured by economic circumstances, which makes them more inclined to accept jobs, often in low-skilled sectors or on temporary contracts.

When it comes to immigrants’ use of public services, Carrasco highlights that there are no major differences between immigrants and natives in the same age group when it comes to health care visits and hospitaliaations.

Immigrants, however, have less access to specialised treatment and visit the emergency department more often.

The study did find, however, that crime is higher among migrants than among natives. The study claimed that this was because a large proportion of migrants are young men with low education.

In addition, she argues that immigration should be managed and controlled better, for example by adapting the influx of migrants to the needs of the labour market and creating more orderly migration processes.

According to Fedea, Spain can continue to benefit from immigration without compromising social cohesion or economic stability.