(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).
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.