The coronavirus pandemic has abruptly halted the positive trend of labor migration to Germany, according to Handelsblatt. In 2020, only 16,587 skilled workers from non-EU countries came to Germany, ie about 42% of the previous year’s number.
Excluding lower-skilled workers, the number of migrant workers from non-EU countries was just under 30,000 – less than half a year earlier.
This is the result of the Bertelsmann Foundation’s latest report on skilled labor migration, which is available exclusively at Handelsblatt. The data on immigration and migration from the Central Register of Foreigners, distributed according to the purpose of immigration, are available only until the year 2020.
The German economy is dependent on immigration, if the shortage of skilled workers is not going to be a brake on growth. According to estimates by the Employment Research Institute (IAB), in order to keep the workforce relatively stable despite an aging population, 400,000 people will have to emigrate each year.
In the balance sheet, ie after the removal of immigration, in 2020 a little less than 331,000 foreign nationals will emigrate. Immigration from non-EU countries was the main source of migration. In 2020, it accounted for only 42% of migration – after a good 47% the previous year.
In addition to reducing refugee immigration, Korona-related entry restrictions may have played a role here. They are also one of the reasons why the Law on Migration of Skilled Workers, which entered into force in March 2020 and is mainly aimed at attracting workers with vocational training, has so far had little effect.
Among EU immigrants, Romanians make up just under a third, followed by Poles and Bulgarians, who together account for just under 30%. Overall, labor migration from non-EU countries accounts for only 3.4%. The main countries of origin of skilled workers are India, Turkey, USA, Serbia and China.
If we look more closely at the migration of skilled labor from non-EU countries, it seems that academics still find it relatively easy to come to Germany despite the pandemic. In 2020, significantly fewer highly qualified and university-educated people entered Germany through the so-called EU Blue Card than in previous years.
However, with 44%, they constitute the largest share of labor migration from third countries. In addition, immigrants with an EU blue card are more likely to remain as immigrants in Germany than as skilled workers.
The relative share of residence permits for researchers also increased significantly compared to the previous year, while that of skilled workers decreased. Under the new law on the migration of skilled workers, around 4,200 permits were issued – which correspond to a quarter of the migration of skilled workers from non-EU countries.
Given the need for skilled workers in Germany, study author Susanne Schulz welcomes the fact that the traffic light government still wants to adapt the immigration law for skilled workers. Both employers and migrants need more help. Above all, it is important to speed up the recognition of qualifications. In order to achieve better comparability of qualifications, Schulz also proposes the extension of training partnerships with potential countries of origin of skilled workers.
Source: Capital
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