Most research on migrant labour market participation and performance in the UK has focused on non-whites, especially those self-identified as members of one of the officially defined ethnic minorities. Little attention has been paid to other major migrant streams to the UK, most of whose members have entered the country under the European Union’s (EU) freedom of movement of labour principle. These ‘new white migrants’ can be divided into two main groups: West Europeans, who have been moving to the UK since its accession to the, then, European Community in 1973 (with a wider range of countries as membership was enlarged); and East Europeans, mostly from countries of the former Warsaw Pact bloc which joined the Union in 2004 and 2007.

1. Unequal
Europe
Judit Pasztor
ELTE Doctoryl School of
Psychology
Centre of Intercultural
Psychology and Pedagogy
05/11/2020

2. EU mobility
challenges
Little attention has been paid to other major migrant
streams to the UK, most of whose members have entered
the country under the European Union’s (EU) freedom
of movement of labor principle.
Most research on migrant labor market participation
and performance in the UK has focused on non-whites,
especially those self-identified as members of one of the
officially defined ethnic minorities.
These ‘new white migrants’ can be divided into
two main groups: West Europeans, who have
been moving to the UK since its accession to the,
then, European Community in 1973 (with a
wider range of countries as membership was
enlarged); and East Europeans, mostly from
countries of the former Warsaw Pact bloc which
joined the Union in 2004 and 2007.
Intra-EU migration
Ethnic minorities
East vs. West

3. Typology of migrants
Sojourners I.
Circular migrants who mainly take low-skill, low-paid jobs
to obtain income during their short-term stays.
Sojourners II.
Stay longer, but only for sufficient time—and again usually
in low-paid, low-income occupations—to raise sufficient
capital for their longer-term career trajectories in their home
countries.
Searchers:
Searchers keep their options open while seeking to climb the
occupational ladder in the UK.
Stayers:
They intend to remain permanently.
The latter two groups are the least likely to suffer substantial employment penalties.
Based on Eade, Drinkwater & Garapich (2007)

4. Over-qualification
phenomenon
Over-qualification is generally interpreted as a situation where a
group’s members have a labor market status associated with
underutilization of their skills, lower earnings and lower job satisfaction
(Smith 1986; Slack and Jensen 2007).
Over-qualification is generally interpreted as a disadvantage (Battu
and Sloane 2004; Nielsen 2011) and unfilled potential.
Under-qualification is perceived as advantageous, perhaps even
reflecting ‘positive discrimination’ (Alpin et al. 1998).
Because of employers’ unwillingness to appoint them to posts for which
they are qualified, individuals have to take ‘inferior’, and probably
lower-paid positions.
Over-qualification can be a temporary phase in an individual’s
working life cycle, when the supply and demand for labor are not in
balance (Tsang and Levin 1985).

5. Over-qualification
If the applicant accepts a
position where their skills
are underutilized, they
will seek for other job.
reasons
Employers see qualification as
predictor of future productivity 
offer the position for the best
applicant.
Over-qualification can be linked to skill deficits as
well  applicants have the necessary
qualification but has no requested skill  they
have to gain experience  they have to take
lower status jobs to develop their skills (temporary
trade off)

6. 1. When a migrant arrives to a new country, they will take any job
 to gain economical security
2. First step is secure housing and cover the everyday expenses
3. When their status is firm, they might try to find better job, which
is closer to their expertise and qualification.
‚Any job, better job, dream job’
IDEAL GOAL
Job seekers find their „dream job” which leads to good
income and social status
PROBLEM
Many of them leave the country before reach this phase

7. Lack of proper language skills
Employer discrimination
Living conditions
 far from job opportunities
 migrants rather works at the local enclave economy
 accepts lower status jobs
Employers do not accept foreign qualifications
Further problems

8. Discrimination
Depends on the country’s anti-racist legalization
Main source of discrimination: skin color (UK & US)
In case of Eastern and Western migrants in Europe, they have the same color:
white
 some groups may be seen „less white” than others.
Some employers prefer candidates from their own ethnic-racial groups  taste
discrimination (Becker, 1957)
Eastern Europeans in the UK portrayed coming from low-wage countries
 ready to accept jobs
 over-qualification
 salary is higher than at home
 they send money to relatives or save
 investments (business or property) at home

9. Segmented labor market
In ethnically or racially segmented societies, most of the minority groups are
concentrated at blue-collar, semi-skilled or unskilled occupations  segmented labor
market (Piore, 1978)
Accepting decreditalization of their qualifications and jobs for which they are over-
qualified  short-term solution for migrants  especially those who do not intend
to settle permanently
Western Europeans do not face significant penalties and incorporate in the primary
sector
 Professionals, semi-professionals  expats + human capital
Eastern Europeans appear to be penalized in the UK labor market relative to their
human capital (Demireva, 2011)
 Even with many degrees they work in low wage jobs
 Secondary sector (agriculture, construction, catering and domestic
industries)
 Over-qualified but paid much less

10. Over-qualification
and earnings
General agreement: first-generation migrants likely to pay a price for
moving to a new country. Related issues:
 Lack of language skills
 Assimilation problems
 Insufficient knowledge about the local labor market practices
 Devaluing their qualifications obtained in their home
countries
Lack of knowledge of migrants’ qualifications leads to offering them
less worthy jobs  lower wage
COST EFFECTIVE SOLUTION FOR THE EMPLOYER
Eastern Europeans: over-qualified (= effective human resources) with
lower salary expectations (=cost effective human resources)
 double penalties compared to Western Europeans

11. Cosmopolitanism
 Associated with the moral ideal of global democracy (Calhoun,
2002).
 It is primarily a prescriptive concept: it describes how things should be
rather than engaging directly with how things are in people’s
everyday realities. The conceptual distinction between
cosmopolitanism as an ideal and as a practice.
 Focuses on the ways in which people develop post-national loyalties
and cross boundaries between ‘us’ and ‘them’.
 Everyday cosmopolitanism is intrinsically linked with processes of
identity.
 Cosmopolitan identities intersect with other social
 categorizations: class, sexuality and gender.

12. Orientalism
 Europe represent cosmopolitanism and encapsulating cosmopolitan
 ideas such as peace and tolerance against „others”
 Others mean: „Eastern others” = Islamic orient
 Eastern Europe and the Balkans are also seen through Orientalist lenses.
 The Balkans are seem semi-Europeaness, semi-civilized and semi-modernized
 Eastern Europe: in the middle between Western Europe and the Orient (Wolff, 1996)
 Since the Cold War, the „Western things” were associated with progress and luxurious
lifestyle.
 The prototipical „normal” European in the eyes of the East is still the Western European.
 Eastern Europe is understood as being „in the making” and not yet fully modernized.

13. Romanians
in London
2004 and 2007 EU enlargement caused moral panic in the UK due to the
Eastern Europeans.
The stigmatization of Eastern Europeans has been shown in research.
Despite their privileged position as whites, they have been racialized in the press.
The 2016 Brexit vote can be connected to the fear of Eastern Europeans.
Previous studies shows due to the stigmatization, the socio-cultural adaptation of
Eastern European migrants was not successful.
Most of the research focuses on Polish migrants in the UK (largest Eastern
European community).
Romanians have been stigmatized by the UK media as criminals had more
attention than Hungarians.
Romanians are ethnically closer to the ideal of European whiteness & EU citizens
but historically orientalized and positioned outside the European core.
Romanians who migrate to the UK and live in London feels „in-betweenness”,
positioning themselves as westernized ad „Europanized”.Eastern Europeans,
which differentiate them from Eastern Europeans

14. Antonucci, L., & Varriale, S. (2020). Unequal Europe, unequal Brexit: How intra-European
inequalities shape the unfolding and framing of Brexit. Current Sociology, 68(1), 41-59.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392119863837
Johnston, R., Khattab, N., & Manley, D. (2015). East versus West? Over-qualification and
earnings among the UK's European migrants. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 41(2), 196-
218. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183x.2014.935308
Andreouli, E., & Howarth, C. (2019). Everyday cosmopolitanism in representations of Europe
among young Romanians in Britain. Sociology, 53(2), 280-296.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038518777693
Resources

15. Thank you!
pasztor.judit@ppk.elte.hu
ResearchGate
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