Labour Migration from Eight New EU Countries since the Opening of the Labour Market

On 1 May 2011, nationals of eight of the ten countries which had joined the European Union on 1 May 2004 (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia) were granted unlimited access to the Austrian labour market. Migration from these eight countries since then mostly reflected expectations, in terms of both scope and structure. The labour stock from these countries rose by 29,493 in the first twelve months since free movement of labour was granted. Burgenland in particular experienced a considerable influx, and the other states of eastern Austria similarly reported an above-average intake. In the southern and western regions, on the other hand, net immigration was below average.