Cardiff University economist Dr Ezgi Kaya will present research on pay, hours and job type among immigrant workers at an ONS webinar on 29 October 2026.
Immigrants who have lived in the UK for fewer than 10 years tend to earn less, work longer hours and be more likely to hold low-skilled or temporary jobs than UK-born employees, according to research to be presented at an Office for National Statistics webinar. The free online event runs from 10:30am to 11:30am on Thursday 29 October 2026 via Microsoft Teams, as part of the ONS October theme of Social Mobility and Inclusion.
Dr Ezgi Kaya, Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor in Economics at Cardiff Business School, will present findings published in the Scandinavian Journal of Economics. The study links Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings data to the 2011 Census for England and Wales — so the figures reflect conditions from that period rather than the labour market as it stands today.
One finding stands out. The gaps between immigrant and UK-born employees persist even among workers at the same employer, which the figures show may point to workplace-level factors rather than differences between industries or firms alone.
Long-term immigrants do better. The research reports that those who have spent more time in the country have outcomes closer to those of UK-born employees, though the ONS notes that differences do not narrow uniformly across all immigrant groups.
Census 2021 data from the ONS gives a broader picture of employment rates. Among people aged 16 to 64, 71.2 per cent of UK-born residents in England and Wales were in employment, compared with 78.2 per cent of those born in an EU member state and 64.9 per cent of those born outside the EU. Across all ages from 16 and over, the overall employment rate in England and Wales stood at 57.2 per cent, covering an estimated 27.8 million people.
Dr Kaya received a commendation at a previous ONS Research Excellence Awards, and the webinar forms part of the ONS Research Excellence Series, which showcases research relevant to official statistics and public policy.
Key information
- Date and time: Thursday 29 October 2026, 10:30am to 11:30am
- Format: Online via Microsoft Teams — free to attend
- Speaker: Dr Ezgi Kaya, Cardiff Business School
- Theme: ONS Social Mobility and Inclusion — October 2026
Source: @ONS
ONS webinar to look at how immigrants fare in the labour market Quiz
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