Refugees are accepted to provide protection from war, persecution, and displacement. This is the primary task of the asylum system, but integration into the labour market, education system, and society is also very important. The more successfully refugees are integrated into the labour market, the more they contribute to overall economic production, taxes, and contributions – and the lower the fiscal burden from transfer payments and other costs. But how has this integration been successful? The world’s most comprehensive longitudinal study of refugees, linked to social security data, shows that nine years after arrival, the employment rates of those who arrived in 2015 have already closely approached the population average; for male refugees, the proportion is even higher than the male population average. The fact that the employment rate of female refugees is significantly lower is due less to cultural than to structural reasons.

Abstract The German Government’s growth initiative aims to strengthen immigration into the labour market. In the first three years, 30 %, 20 % and 10 % of the gross income of newly arrived skilled workers will be tax-free. The target group has not yet been precisely defined, but it is likely to be workers with professional and university qualifications under the Residence Act. This Act focuses on the immigration of skilled workers, including the EU Blue Card and the regulations for IT specialists. Under certain conditions, tax rebates can trigger additional migration. However, there are also disadvantageous deadweight and distributional effects. The aim must be to avoid a race to the bottom between international tax rates.

SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus, spread across Germany within just a short period of time. Seroepidemiological studies are able to estimate the proportion of the population with antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 infection (seroprevalence) as well as the level of undetected infections, which are not captured in official figures. In the seroepidemiological study Corona Monitoring Nationwide (RKI-SOEP-2), biospecimens and interview data were collected in a nationwide population-based subsample of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). By using laboratory-analyzed blood samples to detect antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, we were able to identify a history of vaccination or infection in study participants. By combining these results with survey data, we were able to identify groups within the population that are at increased risk of infection. By linking the RKI-SOEP-2 survey data with data from other waves of the SOEP survey, we will be able to examine the medium- to long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including effects of long COVID, in diverse areas of life. Furthermore, the data provide insight into the population's willingness to be vaccinated as well as related attitudes and conditions. In sum, the RKI-SOEP-2 survey data offer a better understanding of the scope of the epidemic in Germany and can help in identifying target groups for infection control in the present and future pandemics.

This study describes the first wave of the IAB-BiB/FReDA-BAMF-SOEP Survey on Ukrainian Refugees in Germany, a unique panel dataset based on over 11,000 interviews conducted between August and October 2022. The aim of the IAB-BiB/FReDA-BAMF-SOEP Survey is to provide a data-infrastructure for theory-driven and evidence-based research on various aspects of integration among Ukrainian refugees in Germany, the second most important destination country in the EU after Poland, hosting over a million people who arrived in Germany shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Based on the survey, this study also provides first insights into demographic, educational, linguistic, occupational, and social characteristics of this population. The analyses revealed that the refugee population comprised mostly young and educated individuals, with a significant proportion of females without partners and female-headed separated families. While German language skills were limited, about half of Ukrainian refugees had attended or were attending language courses. However, the integration process faced significant challenges, as the participation of children in day-care was relatively low, and the self-reported life satisfaction was markedly below the average of the German population. The study highlights the need for targeted policy measures to address such issues. Additionally, policies may aim at harnessing the high potential of the Ukrainian refugees for the German labor market. Given that a substantial proportion would like to stay in Germany permanently, policymakers should take note of these findings and aim to facilitate their long-term integration process to ensure that these refugees may thrive in Germany.

More than 3 million asylum seekers arrived into Europe between 2014 and 2016, and we analyze the role of destination-specific policy measures in shaping their location choices. We bring to the data a gravity equation that reflects the uncertainty that asylum seekers face, concerning the chances of obtaining refugee protection, the processing time and the risk of repatriation. These factors shaped the distribution of asylum seekers, and produced heterogeneous effects across different origin countries. German efforts to expand their processing capacity produced a significant increase in applications from origins with high recognition rates, which were mostly diverted away from Sweden.

Global mobility of employees: creating an audit tool to support good practice The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action ‘Global Mobility of Employees’ (GLOMO) strives for a comprehensive investigation of global mobility into EU countries and within the EU and its impact on international careers. Using qualitative and quantitative research methods, 15 early-stage researchers and their supervisors explore the conditions for career mobility and advancement among self-initiated expatriates in Europe. The studies analyse key variables at the micro-level of individual employees, meso-level variables across a sample of different companies and macro-level factors capturing different institutional contexts at the national level.

We analyze the role of origin-destination-time specific policy measures in shaping the location choices of asylum seekers across European countries. We estimate a gravity equation that reflects the uncertainty that asylum seekers face concerning the chances of obtaining refugee protection, the processing time and the risk of repatriation. German efforts to expand their processing capacity are correlated with a significant increase in applications from origins with high recognition rates, which were mostly diverted away from Sweden. For Syrians, the observed variations in processing times increased applications in Germany by 16.1 percent, and led to a 35.3 percent reduction in Sweden between 2014 and 2015.

Seit Kriegsbeginn sind mehr als eine Million Menschen aus der Ukraine nach Deutschland geflohen. Erste repräsentative Erkenntnisse über deren Lebenssituation und Zukunftspläne ermöglicht die Studie „Geflüchtete aus der Ukraine in Deutschland (IAB-BiB/FReDA-BAMF-SOEP-Befragung)“, eine gemeinsame Studie des Instituts für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), des Bundesinstituts für Bevölkerungsforschung (BiB), des Forschungszentrums des Bundesamts für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF-FZ) und des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) am Deutschen Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin). Es wurden für diese Studie 11.225 geflüchtete Ukrainerinnen und Ukrainer in der Zeit zwischen August und Oktober 2022 befragt.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to contain it have had significant consequences for the labor market in Germany, for example in the form of short-time work, working from home, reduced working hours or even layoffs. Based on employment statistics and new survey data, the consequences of the crisis for refugees as well as other migrants are examined here in comparison to persons without a migration background. (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Extending free movement of workers (FMW) to the new Member States from Central and Eastern Europe was one of the most controversial political decisions in the history of the European Union. In this article, we study how the introduction of FMW affected immigrants' labor market integration in Germany. Using data from the IAB-SOEP Migration Sample, we show that the introduction of FMW was associated with a higher influx of skilled workers. Moreover, FMW has increased the probability of labor market entry within one year after arrival by 12 percentage points. Correspondingly, FMW improved welfare not only by increasing the scale of migration but also by raising immigrants' skill level and reducing the time before entry into the labor market. Our findings thus yield new insights on the beneficial effects of FMW on labor market integration of immigrants in the Common Market.

The regulation of occupations and difficulties in assessing foreign occupational qualifications restrict the possibilities of immigrants to integrate into the German labor market. Our study shows that the formal recognition of occupational qualifications can improve the labor market outcomes of immigrants. We find that the recognition leads to higher employment and wages and that the earnings of immigrants converge to those of their native counterparts. (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Following the withdrawal of US and NATO troops and the seizure of power by the Taliban, it can be expected that the levels of persecution, political violence, and human rights violations will sharply increase in Afghanistan. Women and girls as well as ethnic and religious minorities are particularly vulnerable to restrictions of political and personal freedom. At the same time, a further deterioration of the economic situation may result in a severe food supply crisis in Afghanistan. In the past, Pakistan and Iran provided shelter for around 80 percent of the refugees from Afghanistan. However, changes in geopolitical agendas, deteriorating economic conditions, and growing anti-immigrant sentiments, led to a refusal of the Pakistani and Iranian governments to accept additional refugees from Afghanistan. This is also the case for the governments of most Ex-Soviet Union states in Central Asia and China. As a consequence, it would be unrealistic to assume that the political and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan can be alleviated through the resettlement of refugees within the region and financial and technical assistance for neighbouring countries provided by the EU, the United States, and other high-income countries. Furthermore, refugee routes to Europe are almost entirely closed, so that an extensive inflow of refugees in European countries similar to the one of 2015 is unlikely to occur. The voluntary reception of persons exposed to particular risks is the only option for the EU, the United States, and other high-income countries to contribute to the protection of vulnerable groups against persecution and other human rights violations. Measures include the reception of local staff, the reception of other vulnerable groups, the expansion of resettlement programmes, and the extension of quotas for Afghan immigrants. Theoretically and practically, political coordination and a fair allocation of costs for the reception of refugee are likely to boost the willingness to accept additional refugees also within the neighbouring region. The reception of refugees is a humanitarian duty incurring costs. Such costs are contingent on the success and duration of the integration process. Although they were characterised by worse preconditions in terms of the level of education upon arrival, the result and length of the asylum procedure, and the access to integration courses and other integration programmes, the labour market integration of Afghan refugees was not worse than the one of other refugees in Germany. At the end of 2020, 40 percent of the Afghan population in Germany were employed, while the employment rate of the cohort of refugees that moved to Germany in 2015 is likely to have been slightly higher. The newly arriving Afghans will be characterised by better preconditions in terms of the level of education, German and foreign language skills than the refugees that arrived in previous years. In addition, they will have a more favourable legal status and access to integration programmes. Moreover, the integration architecture is better than it has been, for example, in 2015 and fewer people seeking protection are competing for scarce resources. In this light, a faster labour market and social integration as well as lower costs of integration can be anticipated. (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

The Covid-19 pandemic and its containment measures have had considerable consequences for the German labor market. The German economy has predominantly adapted to the COVID-19 shock through short-time work and the shift of economic activities to working from home, as well as other reductions in working hours. However, the impact of the shock has varied across different groups in the labor market: refugees and, to a lesser extent, other migrants were affected more than average by employment reductions and short-time work during the first lockdown. Refugees were also only able to perform their jobs at home to a very limited extent. Important causes of these negative labor market effects are temporary employment contracts, short tenures and differences in employment structures. Furthermore, among refugees and other migrants, unemployment has increased much more than employment has decreased. This can be attributed, among other things, to the discontinuation and interruption of integration and qualification measures due to the pandemic. Immediately after the containment measures of the first lockdown ended, the employment of refugees increased again. However, their employment growth in 2020 was much lower than in previous years

Citizens of the Western Balkan countries can take up employment in Germany due to the Western Balkans regulation without having to provide proof of adequate professional qualifications. So far, the regulation has been in high demand among both German companies and potential workers. We analyse the labour market integration of these employees, the experience of the employers and also the administrative implementation of the regulation. (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

effects of residence obligations are controversial: Some expect better chances of integration into the labor market and society from an even distribution of refugees and a reduction in spatial concentration. Others suspect that information and search costs will increase and in particular people who have been distributed to structurally weak regions will have poorer integration opportunities. In the following, based on the IAB-BAMF-SOEP survey of refugees, we examine how regional residence obligations affect the employment of those affected, the acquisition of German language skills and accommodation in private apartments. Our estimation results are based on a comparison of refugees with recognized protection status who are either subject to regional residence obligations or not. They show that refugees with regional residence obligations are less likely to be in employment. This is true even when individual and regional differences are taken into account. The probability of living in private accommodation is also lower than for refugees without regional residence obligations. In contrast, the estimates do not produce any clear findings with regard to participation in integration courses and the acquisition of German language skills. (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Citizens of the Western Balkan countries can take up employment in Germany due to the Western Balkans regulation without having to provide proof of adequate professional qualifications. So far, the regulation has been in high demand among both German companies and potential workers. We analyse the labour market integration of these employees, the experience of the employers and also the administrative implementation of the regulation. (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

We analyze how the formal recognition of foreign qualifications affects immigrants’ labor market outcomes. The empirical analysis is based on a novel German data set that links respondents’ survey information to their administrative records, allowing us to observe immigrants at monthly intervals before, during, and after their application for occupational recognition. We find that 3 years after obtaining recognition, immigrants earn 19.8% higher wages and are 24.5 percentage points more likely to be employed than immigrants in the control group. We further document that occupational recognition leads to full convergence of immigrants’ earnings to those of their native counterparts.