ABSTRACT

This chapter deals with the regional dimension of migration and labour markets in CEE. After 1989, CEE became a new and important source of immigrants to the EU15, increasing in the years following the EU enlargements. Empirical evidence shows that CEE emigration has been mostly labour-driven, bringing positive economic outcomes for the destinations concerned. In the period, the CEE region has also witnessed a transformation from being a net emigration towards a net immigration macro-region, with an increasing diversity of source countries. Labour markets in the macro-region show a patchwork character heavily influenced by urbanisation patterns and West–East gradients.