International Organization for Migration (IOM)

4
4poLIcy recommendAtIons
The study found that, in the EU Member States as in non-EU settlement countries, imperfect
access to labour market information and shortcomings in the use of available labour market
information, also related to misperceptions, hamper the efficient employment matching between
employers and migrants – both prospective and resident migrants. Information deficiencies
are significant obstacles to foreign recruitment, particularly as most EU Member States
have predominantly demand-driven labour migration systems, which place the matching
between employers and prospective migrants abroad at the heart of the migration process.
When the recruitment occurs within the domestic labour market, shortcomings in the access,
use and perception of labour market information contribute to the relative disadvantages
for job-seekers with migrant background compared with their native counterparts, and to
inefficient allocation and utilization of immigrants’ skills. Against this general backdrop,
specific labour market information challenges and patterns were identified, together with best
practices, which allow a number of policy recommendations to be drawn:
1. Provide labour migration channels adapted to the
actual labour demand – including for low-skilled workers
– and streamline labour migration procedures
The way in which labour migration policy is designed and implemented may affect
in various respects the patterns of access to and use of labour market information for
employment matching through migration, notably in the case of foreign recruitment.
Inadequacy of the legal labour migration channels to reflect and respond to the labour
needs of the employers may contribute to the distortion of labour market information
practices involved in migrants’ recruitment, as observed in Italy and in the United
States. Labour migration regulations should be designed by the public authorities in
consultation with all the relevant stakeholders – and, notably, the employers – and be
flexible enough to adapt to changing labour market needs. In particular, the demand
for migrant workers to fill unmet labour shortages in low-skilled occupations should
be taken into account.
Uncertainties amid the labour migration process, both in terms of the annual
planning of flows and of the length of time required to obtain a work permit for
a migrant worker, represent a major constraint – particularly for SMEs – and one
which was found to limit the recourse to migrant recruitment in response to labour
eXecutIve summAry – POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
45