您现在的位置是:首页 > 英语听力 > VOA英语听力下载|VOA news > voa标准英语|美国之音常速英语下载|在线收听
正文
VOA常速英语:Immigration to Europe Drops, in Global Economic Downturn
2010-01-21来源:和谐英语
Update Required
To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.
Spain's government says the numbers of would-be immigrants from Africa fell almost half, from 13,000 in 2008 to just more than 7,000 last year. The numbers of illegal immigrants arriving in France has also dropped, with Immigration Minister Eric Besson attributing the slowdown to the economic crisis and tougher immigration policies.
Immigration specialist Georges Lemaitre, of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, is not surprised by these reports.
"The first thing that affects migration is the fact employers do not want as many workers," he said. "They are not looking to hire as many immigrants. So this is the first thing that reduces the level of migration. The second is the fact immigrants themselves do not see many opportunities. So they themselves tend to come less often."
Lemaitre says this trend is reflected elsewhere in Europe and in richer nations as a whole. And it concerns legal and illegal immigrants.
"Two very significant labor migration countries, Ireland and the United Kingdom, they have seen very significant drops in labor migration," he added.
Lemaitre says Sweden is one of the few countries bucking the trend. Sweden has opened immigration channels since the economic crisis and the numbers of immigrants have jumped 30 percent.
But he says even as France cracks down on family migration and sends illegal immigrants back home, it is making it easier for highly-skilled immigrants to come in.
And as Europe's labor force ages and fewer Europeans are born, Lemaitre predicts governments will be pressured into opening their doors to more immigrants.
"I think there are going to be hard choices governments are going to have to face, either to open up in areas where they actually need workers, and some do involve some lesser-skilled occupations, or probably have to face some strong pressures with respect to irregular migrations," he explained.
Those pressures are likely to grow as European economies recover and start to grow after the crisis.
相关文章
- VOA常速英语:日增20万确诊病例,印度疫情失控
- VOA常速英语:美国驱逐10名俄罗斯外交官
- VOA常速英语:US Marks One Year of Pandemic Shutdown with Hope, Concern
- VOA常速英语:US Senate Nears Vote on $1.9 Trillion Biden COVID Aid Package
- VOA常速英语:What Is Clubhouse and Why Did It Get So Popular?
- VOA常速英语:Thermal Water Helps Recovering COVID Patients
- VOA常速英语:Deadly Drug Overdoses Epidemic Rages On
- VOA常速英语:International Women’s Day Marks Year of Increased Hardships for Women Worldwide
- VOA常速英语:US States Relax Restrictions, Health Officials Warn Against It
- VOA常速英语:Virginia Starts Reopening Schools for In-Person Learning