Figure 1
Number of registered immigrations and asylum seekers (first application) in Belgium, 1985–2016.
Source: Eurostat between 1985 and 1995, Immigration Office-National Register (calculations N. Perrin) between 1996 and 2007 and Immigration Office-Eurostat between 2008 and 2016. Note: This paper focuses on the 1999–2009 entry cohort (indicated by the black frame in the figure).
Table 1
Characteristics of refugees, other migrants and natives
| Refugees | Family migrants | Labor migrants | Native-born | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 43.5 | 65.8 | 38.2 | 49.2 |
| Male | 56.5 | 34.2 | 61.8 | 50.8 |
| Age at arrival (mean) | 29.6 | 30.1 | 31.6 | |
| Highest level of education | ||||
| Low | 52.4 | 44.5 | 28.5 | 27.3 |
| Medium | 28.9 | 29.8 | 32.2 | 37.5 |
| High | 18.7 | 25.7 | 39.3 | 35.2 |
| Region of residence | ||||
| Brussels | 23.6 | 33.6 | 40.5 | 5.7 |
| Flanders | 53.4 | 43.0 | 41.4 | 62.5 |
| Wallonia | 23.0 | 23.4 | 18.0 | 31.8 |
| Region of origin | ||||
| EU | 1.5 | 25.7 | 75.8 | |
| Europe non-EU | 30.6 | 7.4 | 3.0 | |
| Turkey and North Africa | 7.2 | 39.2 | 9.4 | |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 33.4 | 10.4 | 5.0 | |
| Asia | 26.7 | 11.7 | 4.2 | |
| USA | 0.6 | 5.5 | 2.6 | |
| Year of arrival | ||||
| 1999 | 6.1 | 3.6 | 5.6 | |
| 2000 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 6.7 | |
| 2001 | 5.6 | 6.2 | 6.8 | |
| 2002 | 12.6 | 7.8 | 8.3 | |
| 2003 | 9.8 | 9.8 | 9.0 | |
| 2004 | 12.4 | 12.9 | 10.5 | |
| 2005 | 14.1 | 15.6 | 13.7 | |
| 2006 | 11.2 | 14.8 | 13.7 | |
| 2007 | 14.7 | 12.8 | 12.0 | |
| 2008 | 6.8 | 8.8 | 8.3 | |
| 2009 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 5.4 | |
| Survey year | ||||
| 2008 | 11.7 | 12.4 | 12.8 | 20.2 |
| 2009 | 14.4 | 16.6 | 16.4 | 20.2 |
| 2010 | 19.2 | 20.6 | 20.3 | 20.2 |
| 2011 | 24.5 | 25.8 | 25.2 | 19.9 |
| 2012 | 30.2 | 24.6 | 25.4 | 19.5 |
| N | 401 | 4,383 | 3,387 | 20,920 |
[i] Source: BLFS-LM&SP, own calculations.
Note: Results are weighted using the available weighting variable in the BLFS, which adds weights for gender, age and region of residence.
Figure 2
Quarterly distribution of socioeconomic positions by time since arrival, refugees.
Source: BLFS-LM&SP, own calculations.
Figure 3
Quarterly distribution of socioeconomic positions by time since arrival, family migrants.
Source: BLFS-LM&SP, own calculations.
Figure 4
Quarterly distribution of socioeconomic positions by time since arrival, labor migrants.
Source: BLFS-LM&SP, own calculations.
Table 2
Odds ratios – exit out of first employment spell
| (1) | (2) | |
|---|---|---|
| Constant | 0.02*** | 0.03*** |
| Specification of hazard | ||
| Linear specification of time | 0.94*** | 0.92*** |
| Natural logarithm of time | 1.37*** | 1.47*** |
| Comparison group (labor is ref. category) | ||
| Family | 0.39*** | 0.33*** |
| Refugee | 0.34*** | 0.14*** |
| Family*time linear | 1.02*** | |
| Refugee*time linear | 1.09*** | |
| Sex (female is ref. category) | ||
| Male | 1.95*** | 1.96*** |
| Age at arrival | ||
| Age | 1.11*** | 1.10*** |
| Age squared | 1.00*** | 1.00*** |
| Highest level of education (low is ref. category) | ||
| Medium | 1.15*** | 1.14*** |
| High | 1.11** | 1.12** |
| Region of residence (Brussels is ref. category) | ||
| Flanders | 1.02 | 1.04 |
| Wallonia | 0.90** | 0.89** |
| Region of origin (EU is ref. category) | ||
| Europe non-EU | 0.74*** | 0.71*** |
| Turkey and North Africa | 0.74*** | 0.75*** |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 0.89* | 0.90* |
| Asia | 0.70*** | 0.71*** |
| America | 0.94 | 0.93 |
| N | 8,171 | 8,171 |
[i] Source: BLFS-LM&SP, own calculations.
Notes: Year of arrival (10 dummies) and survey year (4 dummies) are controlled for. Results are weighted using the available weighting variable in the BLFS, which adds weights for gender, age and region of residence. ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.
Table 3
Odds ratios – exit out of first employment spell
| (1) ALL | (2) UNEMP | (3) SA | (4) Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constant | 0.78 | 0.04*** | 0.02* | 0.82 |
| Specification of hazard | ||||
| Linear specification of time | 1.02*** | 0.94*** | 0.97 | 1.03*** |
| Natural logarithm of time | 0.47*** | 1.32* | 0.34*** | 0.40*** |
| Comparison group (labor is ref. category) | ||||
| Family | 1.40*** | 1.36** | 0.84 | 1.47*** |
| Refugee | 1.77*** | 3.15*** | 5.03*** | 0.72* |
| Sex (female is ref. category) | ||||
| Male | 0.83*** | 0.85* | 1.10 | 0.81** |
| Age at arrival | ||||
| Age | 0.92*** | 0.95 | 0.94 | 0.90*** |
| Age squared | 1.00** | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00** |
| Highest level of education (low is ref. category) | ||||
| Medium | 0.82*** | 0.75** | 0.70* | 0.86** |
| High | 0.68*** | 0.49*** | 0.43*** | 0.78*** |
| Region of residence (Brussels is ref. category) | ||||
| Flanders | 1.10* | 0.95 | 0.78* | 1.18** |
| Wallonia | 1.14** | 1.45*** | 1.38* | 1.04 |
| Region of origin (EU is ref. category) | ||||
| Europe non-EU | 1.40*** | 1.72** | 3.40*** | 1.29* |
| Turkey and North Africa | 1.74*** | 3.00*** | 3.51*** | 1.40*** |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.97*** | 1.95*** | 7.47*** | 1.70*** |
| Asia | 1.48*** | 0.87 | 5.04*** | 1.48*** |
| America | 1.03 | 0.57 | 1.61 | 1.11 |
| N | 6,305 | 6,305 | 6,305 | 6,305 |
[i] Source: BLFS-LM&SP, own calculations.
Notes: Year of arrival (10 dummies) and survey year (4 dummies) are controlled for. Results are weighted using the available weighting variable in the BLFS, which adds weights for gender, age and region of residence. ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.
Figure 1A
Quarterly distribution of socioeconomic positions by calendar year, native-born.
Source: BLFS-LM&SP, own calculations. Note: The break in the data from Q1 2003 onward is due to the fact that information on social assistance, child allowances, incapacity-to-work and invalidity benefits, occupational diseases and some pensions was only then integrated in the LM&SP.
Figure 2A
Share of migrants (per migration motive) and native-born who are receiving invalidity and incapacity-to-work benefits by calendar year.
Source: BLFS-LM&SP, own calculations.
Table 1A
Overview of the work regimes in place for asylum seekers in Belgium, 1999–2014
| Period | Work regime (in general) |
|---|---|
| January 1, 1999–March 31, 2003 | Asylum seekers can work with work permit B |
| April 1, 2003–May 31, 2007 | Admissible asylum seekers can work with work permit C |
| June 1, 2007–January 11, 2010 | Asylum seekers can work if no negative decision 6 months after asylum application with work permit C |
| January 12, 2011–December 31, 2014 | Asylum seekers can work if no negative decision 6 months after asylum application with work permit C, but asylum seekers who work need to contribute to the cost of the reception center |
| Asylum seekers who have substantially secure income from employment need to leave the reception center |
[i] Source: Authors.
Table 2A
Odds ratios – entry into the first employment spell (robustness checks)
| (1) Refugee ad hoc | (2) Non-EU origin | (3) Home country education | (4) Entry cohort 2003–2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Labor = ref. category) | ||||
| Family | 0.34*** | 0.46*** | 0.31*** | 0.29*** |
| Refugee | 0.26*** | 0.17*** | 0.013*** | 0.11*** |
| Family*time | 1.02 | 1.00 | 1.03*** | 1.04*** |
| Refugee*time | 1.07** | 1.07*** | 1.10*** | 1.12*** |
| N | 458 | 4,348 | 7,671 | 6,451 |
[i] Source: BLFS-LM&SP, own calculations.
Notes: Sex, age at arrival, highest educational degree, region of residence, region of origin, year of arrival, survey year and duration in quarters elapsed since arrival are controlled for. Results are weighted using the available weighting variable in the BLFS, which adds weights for gender, age and region of residence. ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.
Table 3A
Odds ratios – job characteristics (models A, B and C) and OLS estimates – log earnings (model D)
| (1) Low skill job | (2) Over qualification | (3) Bad job | (4) Ln (earn) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Native-born = ref. category) | ||||
| Labor | 1.81*** | 1.86*** | 0.98 | -0.17*** |
| Family | 4.45*** | 5.58*** | 2.03*** | -0.56*** |
| Refugee | 4.65*** | 7.61*** | 2.38** | -0.85*** |
| N | 22,835 | 18,192 | 22,983 | 14,776 |
[i] Source: BLFS-LM&SP, own calculations.
Notes: Sex, age, highest educational degree, region of residence and survey year are controlled for. Results are weighted using the available weighting variable in the BLFS, which adds weights for gender, age and region of residence. ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.