A quarter of Ukrainian refugees work in Germany. The leader in this indicator is Lithuania
26 February 09:42
as of November 2024, 296 thousand Ukrainians were officially employed in Germany. This is evidenced by data from the German Federal Labor Agency, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to DPA, these figures show that only about a quarter of Ukrainians who, according to the Federal Statistical Agency, lived in Germany as of October 2024, were employed.
Before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there were about 65,000 employed Ukrainians in Germany.
According to the Federal Employment Agency, Ukrainians work mainly in the manufacturing sector, trade, healthcare and social services, construction, hospitality, and in industries that involve temporary employment, such as gardening.
It is emphasized that, given the demographic development of Germany, many companies are interested in the human resources potential of refugees from Ukraine, which is already available in the labor market or will be available in the future.
In addition to the 211,000 unemployed, another 98,000 Ukrainians are reportedly attending integration courses, 29,000 are enrolled in employment-related language courses, and 21,000 are participating in labor market programs.
The Federal Labor Agency states that the level of integration of Ukrainians in the labor market more than doubled in 2024, despite the difficult economic environment. It is emphasized that this level of integration is good compared to the overall average.
The highest percentage of Ukrainians are employed in Lithuania
Lithuania is the leader among European countries in terms of employment of refugees from Ukraine. Thus, as of the beginning of 2024, 57% of Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania were employed. The data was published by the German newspaper Tagesspiegel with reference to a report by the Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research in Nuremberg.
Denmark (53% employed) and Poland (48%) also have high rates of integration of Ukrainian refugees in the labor market. In Germany, 27% of refugees from Ukraine were employed at the beginning of 2024.
Countries such as Finland, Norway, Romania, and Spain have the lowest rates, with less than 20% of employed refugees from Ukraine.
The Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research notes that countries with high demand for low-skilled labor record higher employment rates. Such vacancies have fewer language and other requirements and can be filled more quickly.
As a reminder, according to the EU statistical organization Eurostat, as of the end of December 2024, the largest number of refugees from Ukraine with temporary protection status were in Germany. The report cites the following figures:
– Germany – 1.16 million people or 27.3% of the total number of refugees from Ukraine in the EU,
– Poland – 991.63 thousand people or 23.3%,
– Czech Republic – 388.63 thousand people or 9.1%.
Compared to November, the number of refugees from Ukraine with temporary protection increased the most in Germany and amounted to:
– Germany – an increase of 8830 people or 0.8%,
– Poland – by 3705 people or 0.4%,
– Czech Republic – by 3435 people or 0.9%.
