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

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.