The UK-born children of migrants are twice as likely to be unemployed than native Britons, according to new research.
Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also suggested the employment rate for men from overseas had overtaken that of their British peers.
And around seven in ten (68%) UK immigrants had jobs, compared with an average of about six in ten (62%) across the EU, and nearly one in two held university degrees.
The data follows political pressure on David Cameron, whose pledge to reduce net migration to below 100,000 was dealt a blow when official figures revealed it had soared to 318,000.
According to the OECD analysis of data from 2002 to 2012-13, 1.2 million 15 to 34 year olds were born of migrants, while another 2.7 million arrived as immigrants.
Among the native-born, one in five said they felt they belonged to an ethnic group that was discriminated against, whereas the perception of discrimination was lower among foreign-born people.
The report adds: "Immigrants who arrived as children show particular good education outcomes with their reading ability as high as the scores of their native-born peers without a migrant background.
"Furthermore, in contrast to most other European countries, the share of disadvantaged foreign-born students who succeed in school despite their background is higher than the share among disadvantaged native-born."
Around 78% of foreign-born men were employed in 2012-13 - 1.1% higher than UK natives - but employment rates among immigrant women lagged behind those of Britons by 9.4%, the research said.
Ukip MP Douglas Carswell told the Daily Telegraph that if the UK was seen as "an attractive place" for migrant workers then Britain should be more "selective".
"At the moment a talented teacher from Singapore or a doctor form India finds it hard to come - but someone with no skills from the EU would have an automatic right," he said.
"People are concerned about the chaotic, inconsistent immigration system that breeds distrust - not individual immigrants."
In May the Office for National Statistics showed that net long term migration was estimated to be 318,000 in 2014, as 641,000 immigrants came to the UK in 2014 - up by more than 100,000 from 526,000 in 2013.
An analysis by Migration Watch UK also showed almost three-quarters of eastern European workers who have arrived in the UK since their countries joined the European Union (EU) are in low-skilled jobs.