The possible return of Syrians living in Germany to their country could worsen the labor shortage in the country’s hospitals as well as other sectors under pressure such as transport and logistics, according to a study published Friday. With around a million people, the Syrian diaspora in Germany is the largest in EU countries, mainly made up of refugees who fled the civil war starting in 2015.
Within Europe’s largest economy, with a structural shortage of workers, Syrian refugees are concentrated “in professions with a labor shortage and of systemic importance, such as health, transport and logistics “, underlines a study by the Institute for Labor Market Research (IAB). A return of these workers to their country “would certainly not be dramatic at the macroeconomic level, but could have very significant consequences at the regional and sectoral level”, add its authors.
The study estimates the share of Syrian workers in total employment in Germany at around 0.6%, or 287,000 people (0.8% including naturalized people), highlighting that many Syrians who arrived after 2015 are still in training in with a view to integrating the labor market.
