By Tim Harkins

The percentage of foreign-born workers in high-skilled employment in Ireland is higher than the EU or OECD averages.

That’s according to the OECD’s recent report on Indicators of Immigrant Integration: Setting in 2015, which measures migrant integration across the EU and OECD countries.

The report measured the quality of jobs – high-, medium- and low-skilled – held by migrants in their host country.

In 2012-13 the percentage of foreign-born workers aged 15-64 in high skilled employment in Ireland was 38.4 per cent. This was eight per cent above the EU average of 30.5 per cent, and above the OECD average of 34.5 per cent.

The report also measured the skill level of migrants who have been in the host country for 10 years of residence or more, showing that 48.8 per cent work in high-skilled jobs.

This is six per cent more than native born and significantly higher than the EU average at 31.9 percent or OECD countries at 35 per cent.

The report also focused on low and medium-skill employment. In 2012-13 the percentage of foreign born residents in low-skilled employment was over 15 per cent. That was reduced nearly in half to 8.1 per cent when confined to those who have been in Ireland for more than 10 years.

Medium-skilled employment was 46.2 per cent among foreign-born people, and decreased to 43.1 per cent after 10 years or more in Ireland.