Labor-related migration to rich countries fell by more than a fifth last year as weak labor markets and countries such as Australia and the UK tightened visa rules, according to a new study from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Data from the Paris-based organization of 38 rich and emerging economies showed that work-related migration fell from 2023 to 2024, even before President Donald Trump’s return to the White House caused a decline in the number of people entering the United States.
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After years of steady growth following the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the number of people admitted for permanent work across the OECD fell by 21% last year to around 934,000.
Part of the decline was due to stricter visa policies, most notably in the United Kingdom, where net immigration fell by more than 40 percent in 2024. However, even in countries where policy stances remained unchanged, labor migration declined in most European Union countries and was below 2019 levels.
Jean-Christophe Dumont, head of international migration at the OECD, said the downturn could be due to “less favorable” global economic conditions.
In April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its global growth forecast for 2025 by half a percentage point to 2.8%, citing President Donald Trump’s trade war as a limiting factor.
Meanwhile, other countries that have traditionally been among the largest recipients of immigrants are also tightening entry rules. Over the past two years, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom have all introduced measures to restrict work-related immigration.
Elsewhere, Dumont noted that the large number of Ukrainians granted temporary protection in Europe has eased labor shortages in some sectors and reduced the demand for foreign workers.
As of June 2025, an estimated 5.1 million Ukrainians who fled their country in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 were living in OECD countries, according to the latest data from the OECD.
What about other types of migration?
The OECD recorded a 13% decline in the number of new international students arriving in OECD countries from 2023 to 2024. Tightening visa policies in the UK, US, Canada and Australia played a key role, due to concerns about immigration fraud and pressure on local housing markets.
In contrast, migration for humanitarian reasons continues to increase. The United States saw a surge in asylum claims in the final months of the Biden administration last year, and Britain has seen a surge in illegal small boat arrivals from EU countries in recent months.
These increases mean that total permanent migration to developed countries in 2024 was down just 4% from the previous year’s peak, despite declines in labor and student migration.
Still, the 6.2 million new OECD members recorded in 2024 was about 15% above pre-pandemic levels. Temporary labor migration involving visas that do not lead to permanent residence remains stable at approximately 2.3 million people. This is still above 2019 levels.
How have immigration numbers changed?
A record 6.5 million people will settle in OECD countries in 2023. This is an increase of almost 10 per cent on the previous record of 6 million migrants in 2022, with the largest increase coming from the UK.
About a third of OECD countries, including Canada, France and Japan, experienced record levels of immigration in 2023. The United States hosts 1.2 million permanent legal immigrants, and Donald Trump has based his 2024 campaign on curbing immigration.
Despite the political debate, a study by investment bank Goldman Sachs found that immigration drove most of the job growth in Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, Germany and the United Kingdom in 2023, while the United States added more than 4 million jobs.
What will the future hold?
Dumont suggested that overall immigration to OECD countries may ease slightly in 2025, but that immigration will remain at historically high levels despite tightening of US immigration policies. He also emphasized that the employment rate of immigrants in the labor market remains strong.
In the United Kingdom, for example, the employment rate for foreign-born workers was around 76 percent, slightly higher than the employment rate for native-born people.
He believed this was partly due to the visa regime geared towards higher-skilled jobs, and partly due to the fact that low-skilled immigration was moving forward to “fill the gap” for jobs that British nationals did not want.
Fabiola Mier, senior immigration expert at the International Labor Organization, told Al Jazeera: [where migrant workers tend to be concentrated].
“It’s clear that minimum wages and working conditions are part of the problem.”
He added: “Immigration will continue to form an important part of electoral politics around the world, particularly in Europe and the United States. Immigration generates a lot of hot emotions.”
What is OECD?
The OECD was founded in 1948 to coordinate the US Marshall Plan to rebuild Western Europe after World War II. At the time, it provided a forum for economic planning and the removal of trade barriers between European member states.
By the late 1950s, as the reconstruction of Europe neared completion, member states sought a more global framework for economic cooperation. In 1961, the OECD expanded its membership to include the United States and Canada.
Over the next few decades, the OECD expanded its membership to include countries in Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe, reflecting its evolution from a transatlantic grouping to a broader community of developed and emerging countries.
By the late 20th century, the OECD had grown into a central center for economic research, policy analysis, and the development of governance standards. It has become widely known for its work and research in education, labor markets, and environmental policy.
In 2019, the OECD led a proposal to tax large multinational companies at least 15%, ending decades of tax competition between governments trying to attract foreign investment.
The rules, adopted by the G20 in October 2021, make it harder for large international companies, including giants like Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft and Apple, to avoid taxes by setting up offices in low-tax jurisdictions.
