According to a new report, more than half of the new asylum applications lodged across the OECD in the past year were in the US, with Canada and the UK also seeing upticks. The top countries of origin were Venezuela, Colombia, Syria, Afghanistan, and India. Irregular border crossing detections meanwhile have declined sharply in the EU, while the UK saw a significant increase in irregular entry attempts.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recorded 3 million new asylum applications in 2024, marking a 13 percent increase from the previous year, according to a new report published on Monday (November 3).
More than half of the applications to OECD countries were lodged in the US, with Canada and the UK also seeing notable upticks. The top origin countries were Venezuela, Colombia, Syria, Afghanistan, and India.
At the same time, around 6.2 million asylum seekers obtained permanent residency across OECD nations in 2024, marking a four percent drop from the previous year. However, this rate of acceptance is still 15 percent higher than pre-COVID19 pandemic levels in 2019.
Irregular migration patterns meanwhile showed mixed trends. Detections at EU borders fell by 37 percent, and US Border Patrol encounters dropped by nearly half. At the same time, attempts to enter the United Kingdom irregularly increased by 19 percent, while returns from the EU, the UK and the US kept rising steadily between 2021 and 2024.
The OECD currently has 38 member countries, consisting of high- and middle-income economies across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East.
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Different reasons for migration
The report said that family reunification continues to be the main driver of permanent migration across the OECD, while labor migration saw a notable decline of 21 percent, reversing years of post-pandemic growth.
Humanitarian migration, by contrast, surged by 23 percent, reflecting high asylum applications especially in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, fueled by high asylum applications in prior years. The number of resettled refugees also rose by 19 percent, suggesting ongoing international commitments.
Temporary labor migration, including short-term work permits and authorizations, meanwhile stabilized in 2024 at historically high levels, with roughly 2.3 million permits granted, marking a 26 percent rise compared to 2019 (excluding Poland).
Participation in national temporary foreign worker programs decreased by 7 percent, while intra-company transfers also fell slightly by 3 percent.
International students also remained a significant migration group across the bloc, though their numbers fell by 13 percent compared to 2023, particularly in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
Large majority of immigrants active in work force
Immigrants' labor market outcomes remain strong in many OECD countries, with almost 77 percent of immigrants reporting to be economically active, 71 percent employed, and unemployment keeping below 10 percent.
Notably, the OECD report found that immigrant women were outperforming men in employment gains in a third of OECD countries, narrowing long-standing gender gaps.
OECD countries rely heavily on foreign-born skilled worker, especially in healthcare services, such as doctors and nurses, many of whom come from Asia and European Economic Area (EEA) countries.
Recognition of qualifications and licensing of foreign-trained health professionals however continues to be a barrier in many places, where labor shortages in healthcare and other sectors continue to pose a risk to economies in the long-term.
Meanwhile, concerns also remain about the impact of emigration on origin countries with fragile health systems.
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