6 days ago
German businesses worried about sharp drop in incoming asylum-seekers
The number of refugees who have applied for asylum in Germany is down almost 50 percent year on year - at around 73,000 - according to
the latest official figures
.
In comparison, a total of 250,945 people applied for asylum in the whole of 2024.
The vast majority of these applications are from asylum-seekers applying for the first time.
But with many industries relying on refugees to fill jobs, particularly less skilled ones, this isn't good news for German businesses - especially as the country is already
struggling with a shortage of workers
.
Refugees frequently take up work in manufacturing, trade, logistics, and temporary jobs, with women often working in nursing, the hospitality industry, and education, according to the Federal Employment Agency.
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To address the problem, several business leaders have called for targeted labour migration and simplified immigration procedures – including for so-called 'basic' positions.
"Relying exclusively on formally qualified specialists is insufficient," Sandra Warden, Managing Director of German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga) told specialist migration magazine
Migazin
, advocating for proper employment contracts for foreign workers.
A worker puts hands on a wagon with the logo of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) on September 24, 2024 in Berlin. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)
Meanwhile, Germany's national railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, maintains that for its continued operations, "immigration is part of the solution".
"Every hire for operational positions is important to us," a spokeswoman for the railway told the magazine.
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Foreign workers are known to be important for helping to fill Germany's skills gap, and this includes asylum-seekers as well as highly sought after skilled-workers.
A
report
by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs stated that "many thousands of additional workers" could come onto the market if those with a migrant background were given support with training and integration.
A programme in Saxony-Anhalt has proved effective in this regard: 7,775 refugees have found employment since a 'Job Turbo' programme was introduced in October 2023, according to data from the regional arm of the Federal Employment Agency.
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The number of people moving from unemployed to employed between July 2024 and June 2025 was 11.3 percent higher than the same period a year earlier, the data showed.
But there is still work to be done as liaising with different immigration authorities can cause bottlenecks and can vary from state to state.
"The goal must be to ensure uniform procedures," the Halle-Dessau Chamber of Industry and Commerce told
Migazin
, explaining that whether and how quickly immigrants were able to enter a company should not depend on the city or district the business was in.
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Many people who seek asylum in Germany are forced to work in jobs below their qualification level to prove they are financially self-sufficient and therefore can obtain permanent residency.
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Germany vows to continue migration crackdown at borders despite court setback
The number of refugees entering the country has shrunk considerably since May when the new government came into power and
ordered increased border controls and rejections
on all of its nine borders to neighbouring countries.
As of the end of July, 9,506 people had been turned away at the border, according to German police data released on Friday.
"Our border controls are working and will continue to be maintained," Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt
told
Focus
magazine.
The border controls are currently set to last until September 15th.
