Immigration helps to meet the demand for skilled labour

2012-07-13: A recently released study by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW) shows that immigration had a significant impact on securing skilled labour in Germany during the last decade.

According to the study, about one-quarter of the working age immigrants who entered Germany in the last decade completed tertiary education. 12 percent belong to the group of skilled labour highly in demand in German business, i.e. physicians or mathematicians, IT specialist, natural scientists and technicians – a group referred to in Germany by the acronym MINT. Most of the physicians and MINT workers are immigrants from Western Europe. Between 1999 and 2009 they accounted for almost 20 percent of all immigrants aged 25 to 64 years. In this period. all in all, around 42,000 physicians and 185,000 MINT graduates came to live in Germany and at least 22,000 and 88,000 of them work in a job that is well-suited to their qualifications.

Furthermore, immigrants work their way up: Amongst the employed new immigrants, the share of highly specialized experts and managers increased from 12 percent in 2000 to 21 percent in 2009. Thus, relatively, there are just as many immigrants as Germans in such positions. The skilled immigrants reduce the lack of qualified professionals and moreover contribute to the economic wealth in Germany. Solely, the immigrated physicians, engineers and scientists created an added value of at least 13 billion euros in 2009.

Further Information:
Studie: Der Beitrag der Zuwanderung zur Fachkräftesicherung (German)