Of the hundreds of thousands of refugees who reached Germany in the last two years, only 34,000 have found employment so far.
Of these, 22% are on temporary contracts, according to Germany’s Institute for Labour Research.
The institute’s director recognised the importance of temporary jobs in helping refugees get started.
“Many companies are sceptical, so temporary work can help them get a feel for someone,” said Joachim Möller.
But he also noted that “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.”
At the same time, the arrival of so many refugees has been behind the creation of between 50,000 and 60,000 jobs for Germans due to increased call for certain professions such as teachers and social workers.
Assessing the statistics, Möller advised that the effects on the German economy of the new refugee presence will have will be understood only in five or six years.
“If you think back to reunification Germany has already overcome very different challenges to the refugee influx.”
