Brussels, 20/08/2002 (Agence Europe) - According to a study carried out by the EU Professional Organisations Employers Group (GEOCA), agriculture is suffering from a labour shortage throughout the Community. This shortage is also affecting permanent workers in Sweden and Finland. In 2000, the EU counted around 4.580 million seasonal agricultural workers of which 1.352 million were in Greece, 980,000 in France, 817, 000 in Italy and 679, 000 in Spain. According to this study, the gross hourly wage for a seasonal worker varied between EUR 3 in Portugal (out of a total hourly cost of EUR 3.63 for the employer), EUR 4 in Greece (without employers' contributions), EUR 9.29 in Sweden (out of overall cost of EUR 12.86), EUR 14.51 in Denmark (our of EUR 16.69) and EUR 7.54 in France (out of EUR 8.52).
Around 470,000 seasonal agricultural workers from outside the European Community worked in the EU in 2000, of which 420, 000 were Europeans and 50, 000 non-European. 250, 000 worked in Germany and 120, 000 in Greece. In Germany, Austria and Greece, seasonal immigration is only allowed if the labour market cannot meet demands but it is generally permitted to cover the needs of employers, explains the GEOCA study. In Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal and France this kind of immigration is possible but is strictly regulated and in Belgium it is illegal. In the year 2000 in the United Kingdom, estimations of 15, 000 foreign students were made, who could not be regarded as "seasonal migrants".