As OECD countries are recovering slowly from the crisis, international migration is at a turning point. The economic downturn marked a decline in permanent regulated labour migration flows of about 7%, but it was free-circulation movements (within the European Union) and temporary labour migration which saw the biggest changes with falls of 36% and 17%, respectively, for 2009 compared to 2007. With the first signs of economic recovery, however, there seems little doubt that migration for employment purposes will be picking up again.