ESISC: Germany as a Modern Atlas Holding up the Task of Giving the Refugees a Job

BRUSSELS, March 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center has published an article on German Migrationspolitik and its consequences for the future of the country's labour market. So far, Germany's been enjoying one of the lowest unemployment rates in the EU, but will struggle trying to retain this status in the following years as it faces the issue of the refugees' integration in the national market. This issue is a common EU problem, but the impact on Germany is going to be especially visible due to the high number of migrants in the country.

     (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/480268/ESISC_Germany_Refugees.jpg )

To read the full article, published March 20, 2017, click here: http://www.esisc.org/publications/briefings/11801

As authors admit, "complexity of the integration is widely acknowledged in the research community in the country as well. The Director of studies at the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) Mareike Bünning declared that "there will be major challenges in the coming years with regard to labour market integration of refugees". Likewise, the Director of Germany's Institute for Employment Research (IAB) Joachim Möller conveyed: "If we manage to get 50% of the refugees into work which pays for their lives in five years, that'd certainly be a success. It would be an illusion to believe that we will manage to find jobs for a decent proportion of refugees in well-paid industry jobs like car manufacturing"."

German citizens, still suffering in the aftermath of the economic crisis, will be hugely affected by the refugees' influx in addition to rising security risks and carrying the burden of fiscal costs of caring for the asylum seekers (8.3 billion € in 2015 and 14 billion € in 2016). As a result, the cleavage between German populace and the direction of the migration policy Merkel's government has taken will deepen even further.

Presently Germany finds itself on a precipice, states the article, "which requires a careful assessment of the perks and drawbacks of the Migrationspolitik before taking a decision on the future of the country. <…> So far, the political élite of the country is endeavouring the welcome of the refugees, without considering that it is costly and counter-productive for the citizens and is likely to trigger a quick and irreversible deterioration of the economic situation in the country".