More and more workers from non-EU countries in Germany
Wiesbaden - At the end of 2021, a good 295,000 people were recorded in the central register of foreigners who had a temporary residence permit for gainful employment, so their number has more than tripled within ten years (+226 percent), shared the Federal Statistical Office. At the end of 2011, a good 90,500 people with such a residence permit were still registered in Germany. At the end of 2021, almost a quarter (24 percent) of foreign workers were academic specialists with a so-called Blue Card.
This was introduced across the EU in 2012 with the aim of countering the shortage of highly qualified specialists. A university degree and a specific job offer with a gross annual salary of at least EUR 56,400 are required for the grant. In so-called shortage occupations, a lower gross salary limit of EUR 43,992 applies.
At the end of 2021, almost half (48 percent) of people with a Blue Card were working in a shortage profession, such as doctors or in IT. Foreigners who lived and worked in Germany with a residence permit for the purpose of gainful employment at the end of 2021 most often had Indian nationality: 11 percent were nationals of the Asian state. The nationalities of the Balkan states of Bosnia-Herzegovina (9 percent) and Kosovo (7 percent) were also frequently represented. The number of workers from non-EU countries is significantly larger than that of all those people who have come to Germany from countries within the EU to work.
According to the results of the microcensus, this applied to 1.65 million people in Germany last year. There was an increase here too: +19 percent compared to 2017, when this data was first collected. Most of the workers who immigrated from EU countries already had a permanent job offer when they came to Germany: last year their share was a good 71 percent.
Almost a quarter (23 percent) of the immigrant EU workers came from Poland in 2021, which is the most common country of origin. This was followed by Romania (16 percent) and Italy (13 percent). Overall - i.e. regardless of nationality and current residence permit - almost 2.72 million people lived in Germany last year, who primarily immigrated for work. Almost half of them (43 percent) have come to Germany since 2014, and another 15 percent between 2008 and 2013. However, the labor recruitment agreements concluded during the 1960s are also reflected in the data reflected: 15 percent of the immigrant workers living in Germany in 2021 had already come to the country between 1950 and 1975.
Source: Der Newsticker
Photo: Getty Images / J. Koch.
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