Descendants of migrants are advancing in the Nordic labour market – but inequalities remain

The number of immigrants’ descendants is growing across the Nordic countries. Still, their shares in the working-age population across the Nordic countries vary substantially. Most are still children, and only a small proportion have reached working age.

Descendants of migrants still constitute a small part of the overall population, and their share of the labour market is even smaller. But they are a growing group, and in twenty years their share of the labour market will be much more significant, Birgier says.

Labour market gaps shaped by origin and gender

At the conference “How is the second generation doing? Promoting integration of migrants and their families in the Nordic countries,” organised by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in Finland, and the Nordic Council of Ministers, as a part of the 2025 Finnish presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in Helsinki November 2025, Debora Birgier summarised the findings of a scoping literature review examining how descendants of migrants are faring in the Nordic labour market. The review covered 78 research papers.

– The main themes of the papers show that the descendants of migrants face reduced but still persistent disadvantages in the labour market.

The review also revealed significant differences within the group. For example, children of migrants from Africa tend to have a larger employment gap than other descendants. 

– This shows that parents’ background matters. There is heterogeneity in labour market outcomes depending on the parents’ country of origin, and also based on gender, Birgier explains. 

Progress across generations, but not parity

The good news is that the descendants of migrants are doing better than the first generation in many respects. 

Intergenerational mobility is evident in both education and the labour market. Descendants of migrants are more likely to be employed than their parents, although not to the same extent as their peers with native-born parents.

– The remaining challenges in the Nordics involve labour market sorting, hiring discrimination and the fact that education does not ensure equal outcomes, Birgier says.  

She adds that many of the disadvantages faced by descendants of migrants are linked to their socioeconomic background and the environment in which they grew up, rather than solely to their immigration status. 

Education does not guarantee equal outcomes

When it comes to education, the descendants of migrants are often highly ambitious. They tend to have higher educational aspirations than their peers with native-born parents.

– They want to be part of society and integrate. But in the labour market, the results show that education does not guarantee equal outcomes.  

One of the studies included in the review examined overqualification among descendants of migrants in the Swedish labour market. It found that mainly women, but also men, with tertiary education are more likely than peers with native-born parents to be overqualified for the jobs they hold.

– Overall, we see that women descended from migrants have a higher likelihood of overqualification compared to men. Moreover, certain groups of women are more susceptible to this, particularly those whose parents originated from Turkey or the Middle East.

Both discrimination and coping strategies influence outcomes

The literature review also pointed to signs of labour market sorting, where descendants of migrants may face segregation and be steered into lower-paying jobs and occupations. Debora Birgier cited a Norwegian study showing that native-born workers are employed in organisations with fewer migrants, relative to the case of first-generation migrants.

– For the migrants, the situation is different. They typically work in organisations with higher proportions of migrants, and their income levels are lower. The descendants of migrants fall between the two, having a higher monthly salary than their parents but not as high as the native population.

Labour market sorting can partly be explained by discrimination. Birgier notes that, within the studies reviewed, there are several that suggest that discrimination still exists in the Nordic countries. Several of the papers included in the review point to lower callback rates for applicants with foreign-sounding names.

Another factor behind labour market sorting may be the strategies migrants themselves adopt in response to discrimination. 

Mostly, the strategy is to avoid discrimination by choosing the right job, adapting to cultural habits, or otherwise changing their behaviour to fit in, Birgier explains. 

Read more about the report here.

Text: Sebastian Dahlström

Foto: Frida Lönnroos