Labour Market Integration of Refugees During the Covid-19 Crisis in Austria: Evaluation of the FIMAS Refugee Panel
Michael Landesmann and Sandra M. Leitner
Joint Study No. 2022-12, December 2022
in cooperation with International Centre for Migration Policy Development - ICMPD
38 pages including 5 Tables and 6 Figures
This study analyses the effects of the Corona crisis on the labour market integration of recognised refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran who live in Austria. The analysis is based on a panel of refugees who participated in both the third wave of the so-called FIMAS survey (conducted in spring 2019) and the fourth wave (conducted in autumn 2020). The comparison of the labour market situation of this group of refugees in spring 2019 - before the start of the Corona crisis - with that in autumn 2020 - during the Corona crisis - allows a detailed analysis of the effects of the Corona crisis on their labour market integration. The following are the main findings of this study: Overall, many of the refugees remained in employment or moved either from unemployment or inactivity into employment. However, female refugees and refugees with high (tertiary) education levels experienced a deterioration of their labour market situation during the Corona crisis.
Keywords: Refugees, COVID-19 crisis, occupational trajectories, atypical employment, labour markets, job-market integration
JEL classification: J24, J61, J62
Countries covered: Austria
Research Areas: Labour, Migration and Income Distribution