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Intra-EU Labour Mobility Report 2020

Jan 8, 2021 | News

(08 January 2021) – The Commission published today the Annual Report on Intra-EU Labour Mobility – 2020. It identifies trends in free movement of workers and their family members, based on the latest available data (2019/2018).

Mobility 2020
© European Commission

In 2019, 17.9 million Europeans lived in another EU country compared to 17.6 million in the previous year.

The countries of destination for about half of working-age EU-movers (46%) were Germany and the UK, with a further 28% residing in France, Italy and Spain.

Romania, Poland, Italy, Portugal and Bulgaria remained the top five countries of origin.

The main sectors of activity of EU-movers in 2019 were manufacturing and wholesale and retail trade.

The share of highly-skilled persons who move to another EU country increased over time: in 2019, one in three (34%) EU-28 movers was highly-skilled, compared to one in four in 2008.

Return mobility is also very significant: for every three persons who leave, two return to their country of origin.

Report