Institutionelle Hürden beeinflussen Umfang und Qualität der Erwerbstätigkeit von Geflüchteten

"This research report examines the labor market integration of refugees who arrived in Germany between 2013 and mid-2019, using data from the IAB-BAMF-SOEP survey of refugees. The findings reveal significant increases in both employment rates and earnings since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic along with an improvement in the quality of labor market integration. In 2022, the employment rate of those arrived in 2015 reached 64 percent, while it reached 68 percent for those who stayed in Germany for eight years or longer. More than 90 percent of the employed refugees engage in social security-contributing employment after a residence duration of 3 to 4 years, aligning with the general workforce in Germany. The average weekly working hours also match the national employment average, and the proportion of fixed-term and minor employment, as well as temporary agency work, decreases with longer duration of stay. Approximately three-quarters of the refugees who arrived in 2015 are engaged in qualified or higher-qualified employment. The median gross monthly earnings for all employed refugees in 2022 were 2,200 euros, and 2,500 euros for those in full-time employment. The median gross hourly wage of 14 euros exceeds Germany's low-wage threshold and represents about three-quarters of the median gross hourly wage of all employees in Germany. This wage gap is still considerable but may partially attributed to the different age structure. The gender disparity in employment rates remains pronounced. Eight years post-arrival, the average employment rates of refugee men exceed the overall average in Germany, whereas the employment rate of refugee women is less than half of the national average for women. However, the employment rates of refugee women have significantly increased in the last two years. The rising employment rates and earnings over time of stay can be attributed to both individual and institutional factors. With rising duration of stay, refugees acquire better German language skills, achieve higher educational and training qualifications, receive approval of foreign professional qualifications, and build personal networks, facilitating their integration into the labor market. At the same time, the completion of asylum procedures, the lifting of employment bans, and the expiration of residency obligations gradually remove institutional barriers. Multivariate analyses indicate that completing integration and vocational language courses, obtaining vocational training and higher education in Germany, and the approval of foreign qualifications are associated with higher employment rates. The approval of asylum applications also correlates positively with employment rates, whereas employment bans and residency obligations are detrimental for employment. In case of women specifically, receiving non-cash benefits rather than cash negatively impacts their employment probability. Experiencing a strong sense of welcome positively correlates with employment. Furthermore, the results reveal that institutional barriers and integration measures affect women and men differently: women benefit significantly more from integration and vocational language courses, as well as from obtaining educational qualifications in Germany, while the impacts of asylum decision outcomes, employment bans, and residency obligations are more pronounced for men." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))