German Labor and Social Affairs Minister Hubertus Heil’s program to accelerate the employment of Ukrainian refugees failed a year after its launch. Focus magazine came to this disappointing conclusion based on data from the Federal Employment Agency.
Last fall, Heil began a “turboemployment” program designed to reduce the share of unemployed among immigrants, primarily among Ukrainian refugees.
“We want refugees who receive benefits and can work to get jobs faster through this program.” Heil said at the press conference at the time.
At that time, only one in four Ukrainian refugees had a job in Germany. According to this indicator, the main economy in Europe was one of the last among European countries. By comparison, in Britain, Lithuania and Denmark, more than one in two Ukrainian refugees had a job.
One year after the launch of the program, the employment rate among natives of Ukraine in Germany remains at 29.4%. Therefore, compared to October 2023, this figure increased by only 5.1%.
Representatives of the German Federal Employment Agency, commenting on the disappointing results, cited “difficult economic conditions” as the main reason for such moderate dynamics. According to an agency representative Herbert BruckerDuring the first five months, the “turbo employment” program had practically no effect, since winter is “a difficult time for the labor market.”
“But since March we have seen a clear effect. If the previous level of employment continues and the influx of Ukrainian immigrants continues, we predict that by the end of the year the employment rate among Ukrainians will be 35%.” Brucker pointed out.
Analysts from the Federal Agency also stressed in a conversation with the magazine that the stagnation of the German economy also affects the demand for labor. According to media reports, in the last two years until August 2024, the number of vacant positions in Germany has fallen by a fifth. They also cited the continued influx of Ukrainian refugees into the country as another reason. In the first seven months of this year, more than 120 thousand natives of this country arrived in Germany.
“This influx limits the rate of job growth because it takes some time to move into employment,” – Brucker summarized.
A different opinion about the failures of the program of the head of the Ministry of Labor is expressed by ordinary employees of regional employment centers, responsible for finding suitable vacancies for job seekers. In July, representatives of the centers noted in a conversation with the Welt newspaper that the current growth rates could hardly be described by the word “turbo.” The department head of one of the employment centers of a large German city even called Heil’s program for the accelerated integration of refugees “complete nonsense.”
Representatives of the German opposition expressed a similar opinion. In particular, a member of the Bundestag from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Stefan Stracke He stated that “it will take another 10 years before all Ukrainians have jobs” if the program continues at this pace.
