Refugee immigration and labor market integration: Chances, challenges and recommendations for labor market policies Large-scale refugee immigration Sharing experience and prospects between Sweden and Germany European Commission Dr. Ehsan Vallizadeh Berlin, October 5 2016 IAB International Comparisons and European Integration
Scale and development of refugee immigration in Germany According to UNHCR, in 2015 more than 2 million people applied Europe-wide for asylum. In 2015, BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees) registered 890.000 asylum seekers & refugees in Germany. In 2015, BAMF registered ca. 440.000 asylum applications about 2.5 times increase compared to 2014. Worldwide most of asylum applications is accounted for by Germany, followed by USA (173.000) and Sweden (153.000) 2
Immigration flows of refugees to Germany 2014 until mid 2016 3
Selection & Socio-demographic Structure of Refugees No representative data are available for Germany, but first indications from self-reported information during registration of asylum seekers at BAMF Demographic selection: Disproportionately young cohort (56% of Asylum seeker are <25) High shares of men (>70%) Educational selection: Schooling attainment is relatively favorable ~70% without post-secondary educational/vocational degree 4
Demographic Structure of Foreign Population and Refugees in Germany, 2015 Shares in % 5
Educational Qualification Highest attended educational establishment, 2015 Shares in % 6
Vocational & Academic Qualification Registered working population and employees, Nov. 2015 Shares in % 7
Labor market indicators by group of countries Shares in %, Changes to the previous year in %-Points in brackets, Sep. 2016 8
Employment structure by Industry Shares in %, Sep. 2015 9
Insights from past refugee cohorts No reliable data is available providing evidence regarding labor market integration of recent refugee waves In 2016, IAB in cooperation with BAMF and DIW-SOEP have started a panelsurvey of recent refugee immigrants ~1.600 People, who came to Germany as asylum seekers/refugees since 2013 Precise information about histories of migration, education, and employment, aspirations, housing, wages, values, etc. IAB-SOEP-Migration Sample allows to provide insights from past refugee cohorts Refugee migration since the mid 1990s Comparable educational structure Important countries: Western Balkans, Middle East/Afghanistan, Turkey Precise information regarding wage and employment due to record-linkage to IEB-data Evidence indicates how the labor market integration may recur 10
Qualification structure of refugees, migrated between 1995 2011 to Germany 11
Employment rate as % of respective workingage population 12
Median wages of refugees & regular immigrants as % of median wages of natives 13
Labor Market Integration What helps? Evidence from microdata German language proficiency Immigrants with very good German language skills compared to those with bad language skills: Employment rate +15 %-Points Job-Skill Mismatch -20 %-Points Wages +22 % 14
Recommendation for labor market policies Ensuring legal certainty Fast asylum procedure, longer residence permits, possibilities for lane change. Improving language proficiencies tailor-made and on-the-job language courses. Supporting educational investments 56% of refugees are <25. Integration in schools as well as resuming educational degrees are essential for a successful labor market performance. Acknowledgement of degrees and non-formal skills 15
Thank you very much! Dr. Institute for Employment Research (IAB) International Comparisons and European Integration Kontakt: ehsan.vallizadeh@iab.de www.iab.de