Federal Statistical Office - Life satisfaction of Ukrainians in Germany on the rise
Around one million people have fled to Germany from Ukraine since the Russian attack. Despite a high level of education, only one in five immigrants of working age has found a job so far. Four out of ten people are either single parents or children of single parents. This data is based on preliminary results of the migration statistics and preliminary results of the microcensus published by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden on Wednesday.
The life satisfaction of refugees has increased significantly over the past year and a half, according to a study by the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB), which was also presented on Wednesday. Shortly after their arrival in Germany, 20 percent said they were satisfied with their lives; now 27 percent say the same. On a scale of zero to ten, the average score was 6.2 - in Germany, this figure was 7.5 before the pandemic.
Well educated and often single parents
The Federal Statistical Office put the net immigration from Ukraine in 2022 and the first half of 2023 at around one million people. According to the figures, 61% of these people were female; if only adults are counted, the figure was 69%. 15 percent of all women were single parents, and one in four children grew up with only one parent. This means that a total of 40 percent of people from Ukraine lived in single-parent families - compared to only eight percent of the German population as a whole.
"The high proportion of academic qualifications among immigrants from Ukraine is remarkable," the statisticians reported. In the main employment phase between the ages of 25 and 59, 45 percent had an academic professional qualification - in the overall German population, this figure was only 27 percent. The proportion of academically educated people was higher among women (48 percent) than among men (37 percent).
Labor market problem
"Despite the high level of qualifications, the labor market participation of those who have immigrated from Ukraine since the beginning of 2022 was significantly lower than in the overall population," said the statisticians. In the main employment phase, only 19 percent of immigrants from Ukraine were employed. In the German population as a whole, the rate in this age group was more than four times as high.
According to the Federal Institute for Population Research, just under half of Ukrainian refugees found a job that matched their status. The other half had a worse job situation. Most recently, the employment rate has risen by around one percentage point every month.
Well-being on the rise
According to the BiB study, well-being is linked to the housing situation, among other things: Satisfaction is significantly lower in shared accommodation. The second point is language: "The better the knowledge of German, the higher the satisfaction with life," explained Andreas Ette, head of the study. Half of the adults stated that they had a good or moderate knowledge of German, 33 percentage points more than in the late summer of 2022 - proof for the BiB "that investments in integration and language courses are worthwhile".
According to the study, the life satisfaction of children and young people who have fled Ukraine has also improved. Having one parent still in Ukraine and the family not having their own home had a negative effect on their well-being. Leisure activities had a positive effect.
In order to further improve the situation for mothers, childcare facilities need to be expanded, said BiB Director Prof. Katharina Spieß. In order to enable children to participate more, there should be more leisure activities in addition to sports activities. Permanent planning security for Ukrainian families is also desirable.
Read also:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
- Numerous oil, gas and coal lobbyists at climate conference
- The high educational level among immigrant women from Ukraine is notable, with 48% holding academic professional qualifications, higher than the German average of 27%.
- The Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden reported that around one million people have migrated from Ukraine to Germany since the Russian attacks, with 61% being female and 15% being single parents.
- According to Destatis, the labor market participation of immigrants from Ukraine is significantly lower than the overall German population, with only 19% employed in the main employment phase.
- The life satisfaction of Ukrainian refugees in Germany has increased significantly over the past year and a half, with 27% now reporting satisfaction, up from 20% shortly after their arrival.
- In order to further improve the situation for Ukrainian mothers in Germany, childcare facilities need to be expanded and more leisure activities beyond sports should be provided for children.
- Despite facing challenges in the German labor market and housing situation, the employment rate for Ukrainian refugees has been improving, with a monthly increase of around one percentage point.
Source: www.stern.de
