50 Chapter 3 Table 3.2: Descriptive statistics for 16 European countries (EU-15 plus Switzerland) – from 2004 to 2016 Variable Mean S.D. Min Max Foreign-born 13.13 8.70 2.07 48.44 EU–15 & EFTA labour migration (absolute number) 419922 387431 30568 1470945 EU–15 & EFTA labour migration (percentage of the population) 3.60 5.58 0.27 25.07 EU–15 & EFTA labour migration (percentage of the labour force) 7.26 11.59 0.61 51.29 EU–13 labour migration (absolute number) 255272 346311 1581 1809736 EU–13 labour migration (percentage of the population) 1.13 1.03 0.08 5.21 EU–13 labour migration (percentage of the labour force) 2.30 2.12 0.15 10.33 Figure 3.1 displays on a map the average EU-15 & EFTA labour migration as a percentage of the labour force (2004-2016) for the 16 countries. Three countries – Finland, Greece, and Italy – have an average of less than two percent of their labour force made up of EU-15 & EFTA labour migration. The majority of countries have an average level of between two and four percent of their labour force made up of EU-15 & EFTA mobile citizens. While a few countries – Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Sweden, and Switzerland – have over four percent of their labour force consist of EU-15 & EFTA mobile citizens. In the case of Luxembourg, this is exceptionally high and the average between 2004 and 2016 hovers around 48 percent. Switzerland is another exception, and that figure is between 15 and 20 percent. Figure 3.2 provides the same representation but for EU-13 labour migration. The highest levels of Central and Eastern European labour migration are found in Ireland and Austria, with over four percent of the labour force from CEE countries. This is followed by Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the UK with between two and four percent of the labour force from CEE countries, and the rest have under two percent. On average, over the time period chosen, levels of EU-15 & EFTA migration are higher than CEE countries. However, when we look at the data over time (Figures 3 and 4) there has been a greater increase in CEE labour migration whereas EU-15 has stayed relatively stable over time – an exception is Portugal. For a number of countries – Austria, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, and United Kingdom – central and eastern European labour migration is on the rise and each year makes up a larger proportion of the labour force. The United Kingdom in particular has seen a dramatic increase in labour migration from the newer member states. A likely reason is because the UK was one of three countries
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