Immigrants in OECD nations have been badly hit by the economic crisis especially in vulnerable states such as Ireland, Spain and Italy, a report said Monday. The report, entitled "Settling in: OECD indicators of immigrant integration in 2012," said the average rate of unemployment among immigrants in the industrialised club of nations had risen to 11.9 percent in 2010, a 2.7 point rise over the past decade.

The corresponding increase for locals was almost a third less at one percentage point, it said. Referring to Iceland, Ireland, Spain and Italy, the report said: "These countries also had significant recent labour migration, often in cyclical sectors and low-skilled occupations, which tend to be particularly hit hard by declining labour market conditions during a downturn." It said the number of immigrants had increased by a third over a decade with "approximately 110 million foreign-born persons living in the OECD countries in 2009-10, representing 9 percent of the total population."

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012