Numerous industries are already dependent on workers from abroad.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The corona pandemic abruptly interrupted the positive trend in labor migration to Germany. In 2020, only 16,587 skilled workers from countries outside the EU came to Germany, which corresponds to around 42 percent of the previous year’s value.
If one also includes less qualified workers, the number of labor migrants from non-EU countries was almost 30,000 – less than half as high as a year earlier.
This is the result of the Bertelsmann Foundation’s latest migration monitor for skilled workers, which is available exclusively to the Handelsblatt. Immigration and emigration data broken down by the purpose of immigration from the central register of foreigners are only available up to the year 2020.
The German economy is dependent on immigration if the shortage of skilled workers is not to become a brake on growth. According to calculations by the Institute for Labor Market and Vocational Research (IAB), 400,000 people would have to immigrate net every year in order to keep the potential labor force more or less constant despite the aging of the population.
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The bottom line, i.e. after deduction of emigration, was almost 331,000 foreign citizens in 2020. In terms of immigration, migration from countries outside the EU in particular declined. In 2020, it only accounted for 42 percent of immigration – after a good 47 percent in the previous year.
The number of foreign skilled workers who have moved here is falling.
(Photo: dpa)
In addition to a decline in refugee migration, the corona-related entry restrictions are likely to have played a role here. They are also one reason why the Skilled Immigration Act, which came into force in March 2020 and is primarily intended to attract workers with vocational training, has so far had little effect.
>> Find the entire skilled labor migration monitor here: Trends and potential for the influx of foreign skilled workers
Among the immigrants from EU countries, Romanians dominate with almost a third, followed by Poles and Bulgarians, who together make up almost 30 percent. Overall, only 3.4 percent is attributable to labor migration from countries outside the EU. The main countries of origin of skilled workers are India, Turkey, the USA, Serbia and China.
If you take a closer look at the immigration of skilled workers from non-EU countries, then despite the pandemic, academics still found it relatively easy to come to Germany. In 2020, significantly fewer highly qualified people with a university degree entered the country via the so-called EU Blue Card than in previous years.
However, at 44 percent, they account for the largest proportion of labor migration from third countries. In addition, the probability that immigrants will stay in Germany is higher for academics with the EU Blue Card than for skilled workers.
The probability that immigrants will stay in Germany is higher for academics than for skilled workers.
(Photo: obs)
The relative share of residence permits for research scientists has also risen significantly compared to the previous year, while that of skilled workers has declined. According to the new Skilled Immigration Act, around 4,200 permits were issued – which corresponds to a quarter of qualified labor migration from non-EU countries.
In view of the need for skilled workers in Germany, the author of the study, Susanne Schulz, welcomes the fact that the traffic light government still wants to readjust the Skilled Immigration Act. Employers and immigrants needed even more help. Above all, accelerated recognition of qualifications is important. In order to achieve a better comparability of qualifications, Schulz also proposes the expansion of training partnerships with potential countries of origin of skilled workers.
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