Returned immigrants, how many of them become employers? About 91% of returned immigrants who are self-employed work without paid employees.
Some returning emigrants try to create economic activity, but entrepreneurship still remains limited and mostly small-scale. Data from the 2024 Household Migration Survey show that self-employment is one of the main routes to economic reintegration for returning emigrants, however, businesses that create jobs for others are few.
According to the report, the self-employment rate among returning emigrants has increased significantly over the years. From around 7% for those who returned in 2000-2004, this rate reached 34% for returnees in the period 2010-2014, while for the most recent groups, 2015-2024, it is estimated at around 29%. This shows that more and more returnees are turning to independent economic activity as a way to generate income.
However, most of these activities are very small businesses. The report highlights that 91-93% of self-employed returnees work without paid employees, which means that they are mainly individual self-employment and not job-generating enterprises.
Women often choose self-employment as an alternative
The data also show differences by gender. In some cases, female returnees show higher rates of self-employment than men, especially when they face difficulties in finding paid work. For example, for early returnees, 41% of women are self-employed, compared to 25% of men. For other groups, the differences are smaller, but self-employment remains an important option for both genders.
Returning immigrants are more likely to become entrepreneurs
Although the number of businesses with employees remains low, the report highlights a slight advantage for returned emigrants. They are about 0.8 percentage points more likely to become employers than people who have not emigrated. This effect increases for those who have stayed abroad longer, indicating that the experience gained in emigration can have a positive impact on the creation of economic activity upon return.
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