Why so few Ukrainians work
The employment rate of Ukrainians in Germany is only increasing at a snail's pace!
► According to the Federal Employment Agency, only 19% of Ukrainian refugees between the ages of 18 and 64 are currently in employment.
That's only two percent more than a year ago!
► 101,000 have a job subject to social security contributions, 34,000 have mini-jobs. Most work in the service sector (temporary work, gardening and facility management), manufacturing, construction and the hospitality industry.
► 467,000 employable adults receive citizen's allowance, which was granted to Ukrainian war refugees from the outset. They did not have to apply for asylum, but were allowed to be placed in work immediately by job centers.
Result: Ukrainians take up work somewhat faster than other refugees. But by European standards, the integration of Ukrainians in Germany is slow.
This is why the German government ignited the job placement turbo in October. Employment Minister Hubertus Heil (51, SPD) is relying on close support from the job centers (appointments with employment agencies every six weeks) and more effective job placement.
But the figures show: Integration into the labor market is progressing very slowly.
The CDU/CSU and FDP are therefore calling for Ukrainians to only be granted asylum seeker benefits, i.e. a maximum of 410 instead of 502 euros per month (from January, the citizen's allowance will even be 563 euros).
Their argument is that the citizen's allowance provides the wrong incentives. Low-income jobs in particular would hardly be worthwhile. The ever-increasing rents further intensify this effect (housing and heating are covered by the state in the case of the citizen's income).
Problem: This change could only apply to Ukrainians who are not yet on the citizen's allowance. But not many of them are still coming. FromJanuary to September, the number of Ukrainian war refugees rose by just 43,500, and experts from the Institute for Labor Market Research point out that labor market integration would then take even longer.
It is also a fact that many of the Ukrainians have good professional qualifications. However, the hurdles for the recognition of foreign qualifications and language skills are very high in Germany. This is why the Job Turbo stipulates that in future, employment will generally be offered from language level B1 or A2, and no longer from B2.
According to the Federal Employment Agency, 129,000 Ukrainians attended an integration course in October. Of these, 95,000 will finish in the next six months. The rest are expected to finish the course by September 2024.
By then at the latest, it will become clear whether the "turbo" will ignite ...
- Despite the initiative to boost employment for Ukrainians by the German government, the increase in employed Ukrainian refugees is minimal compared to European standards, with only 2% more employed this year compared to last.
- The CDU/CSU and FDP propose that Ukrainians should only receive asylum seeker benefits, as the current citizen's income might discourage them from taking low-income jobs due to its high value and covered housing and heating costs.
- The recognition of foreign qualifications and language skills poses a significant hurdle for many Ukrainians, as the Job Turbo now requires employment to be offered starting from language level B1 or A2, rather than B2.
