Foreign Unemployment Rises in Germany

Germany has seen a significant increase in long-term unemployment among foreigners in recent years, according to statistical data from the Federal Employment Agency.

In 2018, the average number of long-term unemployed individuals in Germany stood at 818,400, with around 187,000 of them, or 23 percent, being non-German passport holders.

By last year, the average had risen to approximately 972,000, with foreigners making up 33 percent of that figure—about 317,000 people.

Under Germany’s Social Security Law, individuals are classified as long-term unemployed if they have been without a job continuously for at least a year.

René Springer, a member of parliament from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, who requested access to these figures, argued that the rise in foreign unemployment indicates that integration into the labor market is failing in many cases.

"Instead of pushing for more immigration, we should focus on strengthening the potential of the domestic workforce and investing particularly in qualifications," Springer stated.

The data also revealed that out of the 972,000 long-term unemployed individuals in Germany last year, around 533,000 had been jobless for at least two years, while 260,000 had been unemployed for over four years.

As of February this year, over one million people in Germany were classified as long-term unemployed, including 685,000 German citizens and 333,000 foreigners, according to the Federal Employment Agency.