The labour market totally conditions the current migratory flows, the Basque Autonomous Community (CAV) is no exception and based on this our migration model is determined. Our number of immigrants is not very high, as the work sectors that attract them are of little importance in our environment, such as agriculture, construction or tourism. Faced with them, the industry has strength and, in most cases, immigrants, due to multiple factors, have many problems working in it.

The indigenous population is mainly located in the industry and this sector allows, among other things, a high per capita income of the Basque society and a high level of associated welfare. If we add to this factor the aging process of society, the low birth rate and the labor market of indigenous women in recent years, we have prepared the components of our migratory model and the outcome.

Immigrants are found in domestic tasks and care of people, which are the main deficiencies or needs of the local population, promoting the reconciliation of working life and offering services that the welfare state does not offer in the area of dependencia.No it is by chance that the main
sector of work of the immigrant population in the CAV is this (21.3%), that the majority of the foreign population is Latin American. Also, and in relation to the predominance of this sector, it should be noted that immigrant women have more opportunities to find employment than men.

For example, Paraguayan women are the group with the second highest occupation rate, only behind Chinese men. Yes, they are the women who work the most without a contract. In other words, they have more opportunities in the labor market, but in return, they suffer more temporality and vulnerability.

Although so far we have talked about the migratory model, we can also talk about the social model in general and what appears to us in the CAV is as clear as it is unbalanced. The majority – native – have a high degree of well-being and use the services of immigrants to meet their needs. The minority group – immigrants – shows a high degree of social vulnerability and offers well-being to others in exchange for very precarious conditions. They have a gap in our environment if they are clear that they have a place underneath our social structure.

This is the situation, as we have told you, and I have no doubt that it will be a model that will develop throughout Europe in the coming years.