(07 June 2013) – In 2012, 15.2 million foreign citizens worked in the EU27, accounting for 7% of total employment. Among these foreign citizens, 6.6 million were citizens of another EU Member State and 8.6 million were citizens of a country outside the EU.
In the EU27, the employment rate for citizens of another EU Member State (67.7%) was slightly higher than for nationals (64.6%) and significantly higher than for citizens of a country outside the EU (53.7%). The unemployment rate for citizens of another EU Member State (12.5%) was higher than for nationals (9.8%), but significantly lower than for citizens of a country outside the EU (21.3%).
The employment rate for citizens of another EU Member State ranged from 53.2% in Malta to 80.2% in Slovenia, while for nationals it varied from 51.5% in Greece to 75.8% in the Netherlands, and for citizens of a country outside the EU from 36.2% in Belgium to 73.4% in Cyprus.
The unemployment rate for citizens of another EU Member State ranged from 5.5% in the Netherlands to 30.6% in Spain, while for nationals it varied from 3.3% in Luxembourg to 23.4% in Greece, and for citizens of a country outside the EU from 5.1% in the Czech Republic to 38.6% in Spain.