Tens of thousands of refugees have found jobs in Germany—although most of these are in the low-wage sector. Economist Wido Geis tells DW that this marks a first step towards successful integration. “That is definitely a success. Especially if you know how difficult it is to integrate refugees into the job market, because they, unlike other immigrants, must learn German first,” he said. On the other hand, some 130,000 people who have been granted asylum in Germany are currently registered as unemployed. “The fact that we have many more unemployed than employed refugees is because integrating refugees into the job market takes time. There is a study by the Institute for Employment Research stating that in the past it has taken refugees roughly 15 years to reach a level similar to other migrants. We also know that a great many people coming to Germany possess very few skills. The German economy has enough low-skilled workers at its disposal, so the effect on the job market cannot be thought of as overly positive.”
