Without it will be tight

D: Labor market needs immigration for a long time to come

Workers are needed in all areas in Germany - for example in construction and skilled trades.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

In the long term, the German labor market is dependent on a substantial number of immigrants every year. According to an analysis commissioned by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, around 288,000 international workers would be needed each year until 2040 in order to have a sufficient supply available. 

Currently, labor migration is considerably lower than required. Obstacles need to be removed and conditions for migrants improved.

A look at one example can be sobering. A 29-year-old who fled Syria in 2016 told the German Press Agency that he had completed a Bachelor's and Master's degree at universities in North Rhine-Westphalia - and is now leaving Germany anyway as a well-trained IT specialist. He is going to Switzerland, he says.

Experience of discrimination drives skilled workers away
"I achieved top performance here in order to be perceived as an equal, but I felt discriminated against and rejected." He encountered a lot of devaluation in his social life, study environment and part-time job. Despite a part-time job at an institute and a very good Master's degree, he did not receive an adequate job offer: "I want to be treated as an equal, but I don't want to beg for it."

Migration expert Susanne Schultz says that the case is "unfortunately not a total outlier". "Germany cannot afford something like this and needs to become more attractive." The study also warns that the recruitment of foreign skilled workers must be intensified and barriers removed.

Significant net immigration from third countries, not from other EU countries
Without additional immigrants, the number of workers in Germany would fall from the current 46.4 million to 41.9 million - by around ten percent - due to demographic change. Immigration from other EU countries has recently fallen sharply, making third countries all the more important. According to Schultz, around 70,000 workers arrived from third countries in 2023, but 20,000 left Germany at the same time.

"Germany now has a very liberal immigration law," says the researcher, referring to the reformed Skilled Immigration Act. "However, it needs to be implemented much better in practice." Bureaucracy and staff shortages, including in immigration authorities, are barriers. In addition, a mental change is needed in many authorities - "a clear move away from a restrictive, dismissive attitude towards an active welcome".

Discrimination is widespread in high-level professions
According to the study, successful labor market immigration benefits companies and migrants and should also "sustainably promote cooperative attitudes towards migration among the native population." However, according to Herbert Brücker from the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), there is discrimination and a trend towards more discrimination in high-level occupations than in jobs that can be performed with lower qualifications.

And: "It is interesting that these people are generally well integrated, they have high qualifications and perform well, but still often report experiences of discrimination." Surveys show time and again: "Many people say, for example, that a Syrian or a Muslim as a colleague is okay for them, but a Muslim or Syrian as a boss, teacher, judge or mayor would be a problem for them."