According to the latest data from the German Federal Agency for Work (BA), the number of unemployed individuals in February decreased by 3,000 to 2,989,000. However, when adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, the number of unemployed increased by 5,000 compared to the previous month. In comparison to the same month last year, the number of unemployed has risen by 175,000.
The BA’s statistics also show a significant increase in the number of foreign nationals among the long-term unemployed over the past few years. As of 2018, the average number of long-term unemployed individuals in Germany was around 818,400, with approximately 187,000, or 23%, of them being foreign nationals without a German passport. In the previous year, the average number of long-term unemployed rose to nearly 972,000, with 33% being foreign nationals, which translates to around 317,000 people.
The statistics also reveal a disparity in the duration of unemployment. Among the 972,000 long-term unemployed, 533,000 individuals have been without a job for at least two years and another 260,000 have been jobless for more than four years. According to the German Social Code, long-term unemployed individuals are those who have been without a job for a year or longer.
In February of this year, more than one million people were classified as long-term unemployed, with 685,000 being German nationals and 333,000 being foreign nationals. AfD politician René Springer commented on the released data, stating that instead of constantly promoting immigration, the country should focus on developing its domestic workforce and investing in targeted qualification measures.
The BA’s data also highlights specific nationalities as being disproportionately affected by long-term unemployment. The largest group of foreign long-term unemployed individuals comes from the eight largest asylum countries of origin, including Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria. These groups account for approximately 50,000 of the 280,000 foreign long-term unemployed, which is roughly an 18% share.
Other groups significantly affected by long-term unemployment include Turks, with around 50,000 individuals and migrants from the Eastern European EU member states, with 38,000, as well as Ukrainians, with 22,000.
While 38% of German long-term unemployed individuals have been without a job for more than a year, the corresponding figure for foreign nationals is 29%. The lower percentage among foreign nationals is attributed to the fact that many of these individuals have only recently arrived in Germany and are still in the early stages of unemployment.