08.02.2005                                                                                                            Press release

Immigrants get employment easier the longer they have

stayed in Finland

According to a study made on the employment, income tax and income transfer of immigrants in the 1990’s, immigrants get employment more likely the longer they have resided in Finland. According to Minister of Labour Tarja Filatov, the study supports the concept that immigration in the long run clearly benefits the Finnish society. Ms Filatov considers the study a good basis for the preparation of immigration policy, stating that it is worth while to support the integration of immigrants, since successful integration quickens employment. The study was presented at a press conference in Helsinki on Tuesday, 8 February 2005.

In the 1990’s, the Government Institute for Economic Research studied the participation of immigrants moving to Finland in the labour market, and the direct taxes they had paid and the income transfers they had received. The economic effects of immigration have not been studied in Finland earlier.

According to the study, the average employment of foreigners moving permanently to Finland in 1989 – 2000 increased strongly during the time they had lived in Finland. Immigrants coming especially from the adjacent areas, such as Estonia and Russia and from the OECD countries, generally enter the Finnish labour market swiftly. Persons coming for humanitarian reasons are also generally admitted to work quicker than supposed.

The training and education acquired by immigrants in Finland have a clear connection with better possibilities of finding employment. Along with better employment, the earnings of the immigrants and, at the same time, the taxes paid by them increase on the average. The income transfers on their part many times take a downward trend after the first four years of living in Finland. As to the adjustment of the immigrants and the economic effects caused by them, the results of the study comply with the results received in other European countries. Young, educated immigrants, who have lived in the country for a long period, bring with them great social net benefits.

Due to the ageing of the population, one can also expect in the future that the significance of immigration for the Finnish economy and society will grow. The fact that the subject matter includes a considerable need of extended research is one of the central observations of the study. The study has also confirmed the knowledge that statistics in Finland do not make very covering studies possible, and that they should be developed.

The study was made by random samples, including immigrants who had moved to the country for many different reasons. The study could not take into consideration all central details related to the person of the immigrant, such as education and training acquired before moving to Finland. The Ministry of Labour was the main financier of the study. Other subscribers included the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Federation of Municipalities and the Finnish National Fund for Research and Development Sitra.

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The study is available on the website www.mol.fi/publications

Additional information:

Director Mervi Virtanen, Ministry of Labour, telephone 010 60 48020, mervi.virtanen@mol.fi
Senior Officer Olli Sorainen, Ministry of Labour, telephone 010 60 48022, olli.sorainen@mol.fi
Research Director Aki Kangasharju, Government Institute for Economic Research,
Telephone (09) 703 2978, aki.kangasharju@vatt.fi
Ministry of Labour / Information, Toni Lehtonen, telephone 010 60 48056, toni.lehtonen@mol.fi

Last modified 25.01.2005