In April 2019 the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) launched a report into the impact of refugees on the UK labour market (pdf). The report explores differences in labour market and related outcomes between those who migrated to the UK to seek asylum, those who migrated for other reasons (employment, family, study) and those born in the UK.
The report finds that asylum migrants (those who originally migrated to the UK for asylum-based reasons) are less likely to be in employment than other migrant groups, and tend to earn less. They are more likely to be self-employed and, where they are, are more likely to have employees. They are also more likely than UK-born respondents to report mental health problems, and to have long-term health conditions affecting their labour market participation. In contrast, non-asylum migrant groups are less likely than UK-born respondents to report these issues.
