Refugees and Employment in the UK
1st September 2025
Researched by Henry Snowball- Doctoral Candidate at Royal Holloway, University of London
Executive summary
There are currently around 515,700 individuals in the UK with refugee status. Despite high levels of educational attainment, 33% with bachelor’s degree or equivalent and 26% for master’s, refugees remain around three times more likely to be unemployed.
This presents stark challenges to refugees themselves in terms of the practical risks of poverty and homelessness which may drive them into exploitative forms of unregulated labour, as well as the emotional and social toll of feeling less integrated into society and increasingly dependent on the state for support. Furthermore, 73% of refugees in one study reported feeling like they are “not able to contribute to society”.
Even amongst those with employment however, 39% of refugees have had to drop down to an entry-level position compared with their previous role before arriving in the UK. This provides its own toll with regard to the “high personal costs of overcoming feelings of injustice, disappointment and frustration” for those that retrain, as well as the loss of confidence amongst those that abandon their professional field altogether.
Key barriers to employment outlined in this research include: gaps in CV throughout the Asylum process, lack of UK work experience, non-recognition of foreign qualifications in the UK, lack of network and job market understanding, language and cultural barriers discrimination and mental health problems.
Finally, this research outlines some of the key benefits for individual refugees, and society more broadly, that would stem from supporting refugees with employment. These include economic stability, confidence, and social networks to improve individuals’ potential to feel safe, secure, and integrated, whilst benefitting society through social diversity and cohesion, plugging gaps in the job market, and bringing labour power which the Commission on the Integration of Refugees has estimated could provide a net economic benefit of £1.2 billion in five years, should appropriate support measures be implemented.
