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Migrants in the German Labour Market: Wages, Unemployment, Employment Rates

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  • Michele Battisti
  • Gabriel Felbermayr

Abstract

Figures from the Turkish refugee camps show that almost 50% of refugees from Syria do not have a basic level of education. At the same time, our analysis of the German Socio-Economic Panel shows that almost 50% of immigrants to Germany in the past five years aged between 25 and 55 years and from outside Western cultures earned an hourly wage in 2013 that was below the equivalent of the current minimum wage of 8.50 euros per hour at that time. For the German domestic population this figure was 12%. The 12.5% unemployment rate among this group of immigrants was a full 7% higher than for the domestic population. 43% of 25 to 55 year olds had no income from earnings (domestic population: 16%). These figures prove that the minimum wage very probably presents a barrier to the successful integration of the refugees that will enter the German labour market in the months ahead. Reforms are urgently needed.

Suggested Citation

  • Michele Battisti & Gabriel Felbermayr, 2015. "Migrants in the German Labour Market: Wages, Unemployment, Employment Rates," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 68(20), pages 39-47, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ifosdt:v:68:y:2015:i:20:p:39-47
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Yann Algan & Christian Dustmann & Albrecht Glitz & Alan Manning, 2010. "The Economic Situation of First and Second-Generation Immigrants in France, Germany and the United Kingdom," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(542), pages 4-30, February.
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    7. Michele Battisti & Gabriel Felbermayr & Panu Poutvaara, 2015. "Immigration: How Does it Benefit the Native Population?," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 68(18), September.
    8. Gabriel Felbermayr & Wido Geis & Wilhelm Kohler, 2014. "Restrictive Immigration Policy in Germany: Pains and Gains Foregone?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: European Economic Integration, WTO Membership, Immigration and Offshoring, chapter 12, pages 395-419, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
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    Cited by:

    1. Michele Battisti & Gabriel Felbermayr & Panu Poutvaara, 2015. "Opportunities for Refugees in the German Labour Market: Results of a Corporate Survey," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 68(22), pages 22-25, November.
    2. Beyer, Robert, 2016. "The Labor Market Performance of Immigrants in Germany," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145799, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    3. Berger, Johannes & Strohner, Ludwig & Thomas, Tobias, 2017. "Auswirkungen der Fluchtmigration auf Wachstum und Beschäftigung in Österreich," Policy Notes 13, EcoAustria – Institute for Economic Research.
    4. Robert C. M. Beyer, 2017. "The Performance of Immigrants in the German Labor Market," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 892, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    5. Hans-Werner Sinn & Marcel Fratzscher & Simon Junker & Clemens Fuest & Jochen Andritzky & Christoph Schmidt & Bernd Raffelhüschen & Stefan Moog & Ulrich van Suntum & Daniel Schultewolter & Dominik Grol, 2016. "Costs and Opportunities of Migration," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 69(04), pages 03-49, February.
    6. Panu Poutvaara & Daniela Wech, 2015. "Ifo Migration Monitor," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 68(23), pages 24-31, December.
    7. Ludger Wößmann, 2016. "Education as the Key to Integration: Only a Realistic Refugee Policy Will Prove Successful," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 69(01), pages 21-24, January.
    8. Johannes Berger & Ludwig Strohner, 2017. "Economic Analysis of the Refugee Influx to Austria," Border Crossing, Transnational Press London, UK, vol. 7(1), pages 1-12, January-J.
    9. Daniel Leithold & Katrin Oesingmann, 2016. "Institutional Principles of Asylum Law and the Integration of Refugees in Germany," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 69(01), pages 29-37, January.
    10. Andreas Knabe & Ronnie Schöb & Marcel Thum & Michael Weber, 2016. "Mindestlohn ohne Nebenwirkungen?," ifo Dresden berichtet, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 23(03), pages 32-35, June.
    11. Gülsüm Orhan, 2017. "Refugee Migrations – Opportunities and Challenges for Retailing," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 70(04), pages 39-44, February.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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