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Bevölkerungsforschung Aktuell 4/2021 • 30.07.2021Arrival on the Labour Market?
The labour market integration of Syrian refugees in Germany has developed positively in a relatively short period of time. At the end of 2020, almost 820,000 people with Syrian nationality were living in Germany, making them the third largest group of origin of foreign persons in Germany. In response to the increased immigration of refugees, Germany has launched numerous measures and programmes to promote the integration process of refugees. This applies in particular to integration into the labour market. An article in the new issue of Bevölkerungsforschung Aktuell shows how the situation has developed for refugees from Syria.
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Demographic Characteristics of the Refugees
The article first examines the demographic characteristics, the level of education and the language skills of Syrians who have come to Germany on the basis of the sample of refugees from the Socio-Economic Panel (IAB-BAMF-SOEP). Social contacts and networks are also important and can contribute to the integration of refugees, for example by providing access to information or job offers.
More Syrian Men than Women Are in Work
The evaluations show an overall positive development in the integration of Syrian refugees into the German labour market by the end of 2019. Differences in the employment situation can be seen between women and men, for example. Three to five years after their arrival in Germany, 48 percent of the men surveyed were in employment, but only 14 percent of the women surveyed. The majority of refugees work in jobs with intermediate training requirements.
2020 Increase in Unemployed Syrian Refugees
In 2020, the employment rate among Syrian refugees declined. The Employment Agency reports about 160,000 unemployed Syrian refugees in August 2020. This means that the number of unemployed Syrians was almost 30 percent higher compared to August 2019. Among other factors, the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and associated measures such as lockdowns and contact restrictions could be responsible for this deterioration in the labour market situation.