Poor Germans are not necessarily the cause of unemployment

Immigrants. The Integration Fund surveyed immigrants from eleven countries about their experiences in the labor market. The problem is not finding a job, but keeping it permanently.

Vienna. The degree to which immigrants are integrated into the labour market depends largely on where they come from. This is the average unemployment rate for those who joined in 2004. European UnionFor citizens from third countries outside Europe, the figure is 4.9% and 18.7%. Lack of knowledge of the German language is often considered a barrier to labour market integration. The Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF) has now examined the link between language skills and labour market integration in more detail and has come to surprising results.

The study “Integration in Austria” surveyed 5,333 people from 11 countries of origin (see figure). Better knowledge of the German language increases the likelihood of finding a better job. However, a lack of language skills in itself is not an obstacle. The study shows that the proportion of people who are or are currently employed in Austria “increases with language proficiency and peaks among those with excellent language skills”. 91% of this group have work experience and 71% are currently working. But: Even among immigrants with poor German skills, 64% already have professional experience in Austria and half of them are currently employed.

Even among immigrants without any language skills, 29 percent have already gained professional experience. Of these, 15 percent are currently employed. “It is possible to enter the job market even with minimal knowledge of German,” says Keri Hartman, deputy director of knowledge management at the ÖIF. “We also get feedback from companies that they are also looking for people with weaker German skills.”

35% of Syrians have jobs

On average, the vast majority of the migrants surveyed said they had already worked in Austria. Whether someone has already worked or is currently working in Austria is closely related to their country of origin. At the time of the survey, 82% of migrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina were working, compared to 73% of Romanians and 69% of Serbs. These groups are typically typical migrant workers who came to Austria explicitly to work.

The lowest employment rates were among Syrians (35%), Ukrainians (39%) and Afghans (46%). ÖIF expert Hartmann said the data for Ukrainians should be viewed with caution, as they have only been in Austria for a short time. The Afghans surveyed had lived in Austria for an average of nine years, and the Syrians surveyed for an average of six years. In the employment assessment, only the data of people who had lived in Austria for a maximum of 15 years were used.

However, Hartmann said that access to the job market is not the biggest problem. Above all, the challenge is so-called “labor market integration”, i.e. maintaining employment in the long term. This applies in particular to people who came to Austria for escape and protection reasons. Among Afghans, 73% have experience of working in Austria and 46% are currently employed. 63% of Syrians have professional experience in Austria, but only 35% are currently employed.

Getting started in Vienna was difficult

“Employment is usually not permanent and usually lasts less than a year,” Hartmann said. The ÖIF uses educational background, gender, children in the family, age and place of residence as reasons. This is also the result of a study World Water Day Based on social security data, Hartmann said refugees who were in Vienna at the time of the survey had significantly less work experience. “We can clearly see that it is easier to enter the labor market in other federal states.”

There are clear differences between women and men – both in terms of professional experience already acquired in their country of origin and in their current employment.

With the exception of Ukrainians, men are more likely than women to have been employed before coming to Austria. The biggest gap is among Afghans: 68% of men and 39% of women have professional experience abroad. There is also a big difference between Syrians (82% to 62%) and Serbs (80% to 63%). The survey shows that 30% of women and 55% of men in Afghanistan are currently working. Among Syrians, the figure is 25% for women and 40% for men.