It has been almost two years since Russia attacked Ukraine. Since then, around 170,000 Ukrainians have fled to Bavaria, including numerous children. Since then, 18 percent of Ukrainians of working age have found work subject to social insurance contributions – a total of 30,100 people.
This emerges from data that Bavaria’s Labor Minister Ulrike Scharf and Integration Minister Joachim Herrmann (both CSU) presented at a joint press conference with the Federal Employment Agency in Munich on Wednesday. The ministers also saw progress in the labor market integration of recognized asylum seekers. There are 77,000 people in work from the eight most important countries of asylum origin, six times as many as ten years ago.
However, around a third of both groups are still unemployed and receiving social benefits, and that is also true, said Herrmann. Another proportion of refugees of working age are currently attending integration or language courses or are not available to the labor market for other reasons, such as looking after small children.
In any case, the ministers saw a positive trend in the numbers: “Integration into work is nowhere as good as in Bavaria,” said Herrmann. “Many refugees have arrived in the job market, and Ukrainian refugees are also gaining more and more of a foothold there.”
There have recently been debates across the country as to whether Germany is not doing enough to put Ukrainian refugees into work, especially since a significantly higher proportion of refugees work in other European countries. However, according to scientists, the numbers are not always comparable. The Netherlands, for example, where a particularly large number of Ukrainians are already working, according to reports, even the smallest odd jobs count as employment, explains Yuliya Kosyakova, migration professor at the University of Bamberg. “If you take those out, the rates of labor market integration are not much higher.”
Anyone who starts a job without language skills often starts well below their qualification level. A teacher then goes cleaning or packs packages for mail order. Germany has chosen a different path. It initially offers language courses to refugees. “I think it’s right to invest in the language first,” says Kosyakova. In the long term, this could pay off for Germany if immigrants are integrated more sustainably and possibly get better jobs, which in turn could lead to more tax revenue.
Nevertheless, the expectation that more refugees should look for work was also echoed in the press conference: While the first few months were about arrival, accommodation and medical care, it is now about integration, said Ralf Holtzwart, from the Bavarian regional directorate Federal Employment Agency. “We know that work is the key.” There are numerous opportunities to take up employment – in Bavaria more than anywhere else. “We won’t be able to get everyone to start with their dream job.” But it is possible to grow in employment and gain further qualifications. He expects everyone to contribute to the labor market, full-time or, if no other option is possible, part-time or with a mini-job.
“Bavaria shows heart, but we also demand integration,” said Social Affairs Minister Ulrike Scharf at the press conference.
(Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa)
Holtzwart appealed to the volunteer refugee helpers to support their protégés in finding work. He called on employers to give refugees a chance, even if they don’t speak perfect German and don’t exactly fit the job profile. “We can provide part-time qualifications and also finance job-related language courses,” said Holtzwart.
There are currently 132,000 job vacancies in Bavaria. The unemployment rate is only 3.3 percent, and for foreigners it is only 8.2 percent – both nationwide best figures. However, integrating refugees into the labor market is a long-distance journey, said Herrmann.
“Bavaria shows heart, but we also demand integration,” said Social Affairs Minister Scharf. One of the most important keys to integration is work. She also referred to the numerous training opportunities that are available to young refugees in Bavaria. There are currently 1.7 vacancies for every person willing to train.
Overall, the immigration of foreign workers is a blessing for the Bavarian economy. The ministers and Holtzwart left no doubt about this: “We really need these people to keep the economy growing,” he said.