Integration in Germany: Half of refugees 'find jobs within five years'
Around one in two of the refugees who have arrived in Germany since 2013 have found steady employment within five years, a new study says.
Researchers at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) compared the situation of refugees who have come to Germany since 2013 with new arrivals from the period between the early 1990s and 2013.
They found that 44 percent of the refugees who arrived in the 1990s, partly as a result of the Yugoslav conflicts at the time, were in gainful employment after five years, while 49 percent of those who have come since 2013 had found steady jobs.
"Labour market integration is thus somewhat faster than for refugees in earlier years," the study concludes.
The IAB researchers explained that refugees who came earlier had more favourable conditions in terms of language, education and training than for the refugees who arrived in 2013.
However, at that time the general unemployment rate was much higher than today and the growth in employment was far lower.
Plus Germany has made a big effort to integrate newcomers since the mass influx of refugees in 2015 during the worldwide crisis.
"Since 2015, considerably more has been invested in language and other integration programmes for asylum seekers and recognized refugees" than previously, said the study authors, Herbert Brücker, Yuliya Kosyakova and Eric Schuß.
According to the study, 68 percent of the working population of refugees who have arrived since 2013 are in full-time or part-time employment, 17 percent are in paid training programmes and three percent in paid internships.
A total of 12 percent are in so-called mini-jobs, where the employee earns no more than €450 per month.
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Refugees integrating 'faster than expected' into Germany's labour market
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'Germany's future depends on immigration and integration': Merkel
Large gender gap
There is a big difference between men and women: while 57 percent of men are in employment within five years after moving to Germany, the proportion among women is only 29 percent.
Childcare plays a major role here.
"Women with young children in particular are only employed to a very small extent," said the study.
In the second half of 2018, a total of 60 percent of refugees took up gainful employment, attended an educational institution or took part in integration or labour market policy measures.
The majority of the remaining 40 percent were actively looking for a job, on parental leave or on maternity leave.
Researchers analyzed a survey jointly organized by the IAB, which is part of the Federal Employment Agency, the Research Centre of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and the Socio-Economic Panel at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW).
The representative survey includes refugees who came to Germany between 2013 and 2016. A total of around 8,000 refugees have been interviewed so far.
Vocabulary
Refugees - (die) Flüchtlinge
Labour market - (der) Arbeitsmarkt
More favourable conditions - günstigere Voraussetzungen
Full or part-time employment - (die) Vollzeit oder Teilzeiterwerbstätigkeit
We're aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.
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Researchers at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) compared the situation of refugees who have come to Germany since 2013 with new arrivals from the period between the early 1990s and 2013.
They found that 44 percent of the refugees who arrived in the 1990s, partly as a result of the Yugoslav conflicts at the time, were in gainful employment after five years, while 49 percent of those who have come since 2013 had found steady jobs.
"Labour market integration is thus somewhat faster than for refugees in earlier years," the study concludes.
The IAB researchers explained that refugees who came earlier had more favourable conditions in terms of language, education and training than for the refugees who arrived in 2013.
However, at that time the general unemployment rate was much higher than today and the growth in employment was far lower.
Plus Germany has made a big effort to integrate newcomers since the mass influx of refugees in 2015 during the worldwide crisis.
"Since 2015, considerably more has been invested in language and other integration programmes for asylum seekers and recognized refugees" than previously, said the study authors, Herbert Brücker, Yuliya Kosyakova and Eric Schuß.
According to the study, 68 percent of the working population of refugees who have arrived since 2013 are in full-time or part-time employment, 17 percent are in paid training programmes and three percent in paid internships.
A total of 12 percent are in so-called mini-jobs, where the employee earns no more than €450 per month.
READ ALSO:
- Refugees integrating 'faster than expected' into Germany's labour market
- 'Germany's future depends on immigration and integration': Merkel
Large gender gap
There is a big difference between men and women: while 57 percent of men are in employment within five years after moving to Germany, the proportion among women is only 29 percent.
Childcare plays a major role here.
"Women with young children in particular are only employed to a very small extent," said the study.
In the second half of 2018, a total of 60 percent of refugees took up gainful employment, attended an educational institution or took part in integration or labour market policy measures.
The majority of the remaining 40 percent were actively looking for a job, on parental leave or on maternity leave.
Researchers analyzed a survey jointly organized by the IAB, which is part of the Federal Employment Agency, the Research Centre of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and the Socio-Economic Panel at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW).
The representative survey includes refugees who came to Germany between 2013 and 2016. A total of around 8,000 refugees have been interviewed so far.
Vocabulary
Refugees - (die) Flüchtlinge
Labour market - (der) Arbeitsmarkt
More favourable conditions - günstigere Voraussetzungen
Full or part-time employment - (die) Vollzeit oder Teilzeiterwerbstätigkeit
We're aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.
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