Kristín Heba Gísladóttir is the CEO of Varða, and told the Visir.is news outlet that their annual report on the workforce suggests that a larger share of immigrants than native-born Icelanders hold full-time jobs, although this varies across sectors.
“Immigrants make up the majority of cleaning staff and a very high proportion of them are in construction, tourism, and the restaurant and canteen sector.”
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On the other hand, immigrants‘ financial situation is far worse than it is for native-born Icelanders.
According to the report, around 40 per cent of immigrants earn less than 500,000 Icelandic kroner a month (€3,450) but only 20 per cent of native-born Icelanders earn that little.
Struggling to make ends meet
And that reflects their financial positions. 42 per cent of immigrants say they are struggling to make ends meet, as opposed to 27 per cent of native-born Icelanders.
The housing situation also differs between the two groups. Almost 60 per cent of immigrants are renting, while 77 per cent of native-born Icelanders own their own accommodation.
This is also reflected in the affordability of basic needs, for example for those related to children. A higher proportion of immigrant parents than native parents can not afford the costs of their children’s social life (34 per cent versus 14 per cent).
Cannot afford birthdays or clothes
They are also more likely to say that they can not afford to hold birthday parties or other parties for their children (37 per cent versus 16 per cent), can not give their children birthday and/or Christmas presents (37 per cent versus 17 percent) and can not afford the necessary clothing (33 per cent versus 13 per cent).
This report has been produced annually for five years. However, a new methodology was introduced this year, meaning the results are not directly comparably with those from last year.
