More and more refugees from Ukraine are working. However, women in particular often work in unskilled jobs and part-time, even though they have good qualifications. This is the result of the report „Dimensions of the employment of Ukrainian refugees in companies in Baden Württemberg“. The Institute for Applied Economic Research (IAW) in Tübingen carried out the study on behalf of the Federal Employment Agency. Around 125,000 people seeking protection from Ukraine were living in Baden-Württemberg at the end of 2023, two thirds of whom were women.
In May 2024, just under 29% of Ukrainian refugees were employed in the state according to figures from the Federal Employment Agency – that’s over six percentage points more than a year ago. 85% of Ukrainian refugees – mainly women – work in areas that do not require vocational training. Three out of five employees work full-time, but 75 percent of those working part-time are women.
Around a quarter of Ukrainians looking for work in Germany have a university degree – twice as many as other groups of refugees. „Given the high level of education of Ukrainian refugees, it is surprising that many refugees are employed in menial jobs,“ the study states. The report also provides the reasons. „Ukrainians tend to be well educated, but not every educational qualification is formally recognized. Many refugees are single mothers who are only able to work to a limited extent or not at all due to childcare commitments,“ it says. There is also a lack of German language skills in some cases.
In order to get more Ukrainian refugees into work in line with their education, the authors of the study suggest improving childcare, offering more German courses and improving the recognition of foreign qualifications. They also consider „short-term and flexible working time models“ to be useful in order to give mothers in particular more opportunities on the labor market. According to the study, both sides would benefit from this: „Progress could not only improve the living conditions of refugees, but also help to alleviate the ongoing labor shortage, which remains at a high level despite the weak economy and is slowing economic growth.“
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Agentur für Arbeit in Tübingen. Foto: tuenews INTERNATIONAL / Mostafa Elyasian.
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