The role of a quality mobility industry in building systemic resilience

Abstract

Migrant workers might play an important role for the resilience of countries and sectors during times of crises (Anderson, Poeschel and Ruhs, 2020). A key factor determining the resilience of systems is their flexibility, implying that in times of crisis, labor mobility becomes especially relevant. In all times, but particularly in times of uncertainty and crisis, flexibility and the ability of workers to move where they are needed is critical to the adjustment of the economy. Evidence from the EU during the Great Recession suggests that migrant workers responded to changing labor shortages across EU states, occupations, and sectors more fluidly than native-born workers and this flexibility allowed them to contribute to stabilizing labor markets during and after the crisis. This dynamic is repeating itself in the COVID-19 era; in New Zealand, for example, horticulture has been identified as the ‘ideal sector’ to spearhead the economic recovery, but labor shortages threaten to prevent this. As of September 2020, 5,000 workers in New Zealand’s Recognized Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme were interested in staying on for spring horticulture work, implying that "if these workers can be easily shifted between employers and regions, then the industry’s RSE labour needs should be Met."