THE NEW STATUS QUO OF UKRAINIAN LABOR MIGRANTS’ INTEGRATION IN SPAIN

This article discusses results from recent research on the labor migration of Ukrainians to Spain. We begin with a brief description of migratory flows in European countries in the last decades, Spain as a recent destination for international migrants, the conditions that led Ukrainians to migrate and their volume of growth in the Spanish territory. We then shift focus and present the results of an investigation aimed at the current dimension of integration through employment of Ukrainians residing in Spain; this group represents the largest non-EU immigrant population from Eastern Europe. The data obtained through in-depth interviews are analyzed, and some significant conclusions are drawn. This paper contributes to the literature on migrants’ employment and integration and presents novel insights into labor mobility flows from Eastern to Southern Europe.