In 2012, 15.2 million foreign citizens worked in the EU27, accounting for 7% of total employment. Among these foreign citizens, 6.6 million were citizens of another EU Member State and 8.6 million were citizens of a country outside the EU. In the EU27, the employment rate for citizens of another EU Member State (67.7%) was slightly higher than for nationals (64.6%) and significantly higher than for citizens of a country outside the EU (53.7%).
As regards unemployment, the unemployment rate for citizens of another EU Member State (12.5%) was higher than for nationals (9.8%), but significantly lower than for citizens of a country outside the EU (21.3%).
Lower unemployment rate for nationals than for foreign citizens
The employment rate for citizens of another EU Member State ranged from 53.2% in Malta to 80.2% in Slovenia, while for nationals it varied from 51.5% in Greece to 75.8% in the Netherlands, and for citizens of a country outside the EU from 36.2% in Belgium to 73.4% in Cyprus.
The unemployment rate for citizens of another EU Member State ranged from 5.5% in the Netherlands to 30.6% in Spain, while for nationals it varied from 3.3% in Luxembourg to 23.4% in Greece, and for citizens of a country outside the EU from 5.1% in the Czech Republic to 38.6% in Spain.
Largest proportion of self-employed in Greece, Italy and Portugal
In the EU27 in 2012, 32.8 million persons were self-employed, accounting for 15% of total employment. Among Member States the proportion of those self-employed was highest in Greece (31.9%), Italy (23.4%), Portugal (21.1%) and Romania (20.1%), and lowest in Estonia (8.3%), Luxembourg (8.4%), Denmark (8.9%) and Lithuania (9.7%). In some of the Member States with the highest shares of self-employment, e.g. Greece, Portugal, Romania or Poland, self-employment in agriculture has a significant effect.
Just over a quarter (28%) of self-employed persons in the EU27 had employees in 2012, with the largest proportions registered in Hungary (46.5%), Estonia (43.6%), Germany (42.9%) and Austria (41.7%).
In the EU27, a higher proportion of men (19%) were self-employed than women (10%). This was the case in all Member States, with the largest relative differences observed in Ireland (23.6% for men and 6.7% for women), Malta (17.1% and 6.5%), Sweden (14.3% and 5.7%) and Estonia (11.9% and 4.8%).
