How Can Labor Migration Policies Help Tackle Europe’s Looming Skills Crisis?

Europe is facing a looming skills crisis, with three-quarters of small and medium-sized enterprises across various sectors reporting difficulties finding workers with the right expertise and experience. And as European societies age and workforces shrink, these difficulties will only become more acute. This crisis threatens not only Europe’s economic growth but also its ability to make progress on other major policy priorities, including building sufficient and affordable housing, meeting green transition commitments, and keeping up with digital innovations.

Responding to these skills shortages will require a multipronged approach. Reforming and expanding training opportunities for workers across Europe and improving working conditions should be central elements. But labor migration will also need to be part of the response, given the shrinking of the European workforce and the time-sensitive nature of certain skills needs, which cannot be put on hold while training programs are designed and implemented.

In all of this, there is a compelling case for greater EU-wide coordination. This report explores the potential benefits of a more unified European approach to labor migration, challenges that have impeded past coordination efforts, and which actions should be top of the European Union’s to-do list.