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IMMIGRATION

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.

Integration in Germany: Half of refugees 'find jobs within five years'
Photo: DPA

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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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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WORKING IN GERMANY

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Bavaria is no doubt a beautiful state with a strong economy, but can be a hard place for non-German speakers to integrate. The Local takes a look at job opportunities in Germany’s southeastern 'Free State.'

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions. 

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds. 

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local. 

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with. 

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