Leading economic researchers welcomed Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt’s (CSU) plans to speed up the labour‑market access for asylum seekers. “From an economic point of view, the initiative is moving in the right direction” Ifo president Clemens Fuest told Handelsblatt in its Tuesday edition. Germany has a strong interest in attracting migrant labour, and a streamlined entry process would support that goal and foster integration.
DIW president Marcel Fratzscher described the minister’s proposal as “smart and long overdue”. He expects tangible economic stimulus, noting that Germany faces a “gigantic labour‑force problem” whose solution could especially benefit small and medium‑sized enterprises. Yet Fratzscher cautioned that faster market access should be only one of many measures. He urged increased investment in qualification programmes and the creation of long‑term prospects for retention to provide incentives for companies to invest in training.
A more cautious voice came from Winfried Kluth, chairman of the Expert Council on Integration and Migration. While he understood the relief to social‑care budgets that the measure promises, Kluth argued that the impact on the labour market would likely be limited, since employers retain discretion over who they hire. He also criticised planned cuts to integration courses by the Interior Ministry, warning that such reductions would tend to raise the burdens on social‑care budgets.