Labour mobility and migration within the EU following the 2004 Central and East European enlargement

Abstract

Purpose

The paper seeks to investigate the effects of the 2004 Central and East European EU Enlargement on labour mobility.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on an analysis of recently available empirical evidence from the UK Labour Registration Scheme and EU comparative data based on administrative data and labour force surveys.

Findings

Only Ireland, Austria and Germany had significant migration from CEE migration and none of these exceeded 2 per cent of the labour force. The imposition of a transitional arrangement had little effect on migration flows. CEE workers were predominantly young, had above average education and yet did not fill UK skills gaps, but filled labour shortages for low paid, unskilled work.

Originality/value

This paper assesses the empirical evidence on labour mobility from Central and Eastern Europe, which is used to assess the current highly contentious debate.

Citation

Dobson, J.R. (2009), "Labour mobility and migration within the EU following the 2004 Central and East European enlargement", Employee Relations, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 121-138. https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450910925283