50% of Ukrainian refugees in Germany are over-qualified

Some 68% of working age Ukrainian refugees in Germany have a university degree, another 16% have vocational training and nearly half are over-qualified for the work they are doing, a study released by the Federal Employment Agency said on Thursday, reported dpa.

The study, from the Nuremberg-based Institute for Employment Research (IAB), also showed that 18.1% of employable Ukrainian refugees are gainfully employed and this rises "significantly" to 28.1% after a 12 month stay in the country.

Large numbers of Ukrainians headed for Germany after Russia's full scale invasion in February last year.

Only 39% of the employed work full-time, 36% part-time, 18% are marginally employed, while 7% are in training or doing an internship, the study showed.

According to the IAB, the average monthly earnings of full-time employed Ukrainians is €2,550, almost €1,000 below the average earnings of all full-time employees in Germany.

Educational qualifications, work experience and good German language skills increased labour market opportunities and earnings.

In view of the high participation rate in language and integration courses and the pronounced desire for gainful employment, "an accelerated integration is to be expected after completion of the courses," the IAB's Yuliya Kosyakova said.

The vast majority of working age Ukrainians - 80% - are women, half with children. Good childcare leads "to more social contacts with German families, promotes social participation and thus also indirectly facilitates access to the labour market," said Kosyakova's colleague Herbert Brücker.

Ukrainian refugees are not subject to employment bans, do not have to go through asylum procedures and are integrated into the basic social security system.

The study is based on a representative survey of around 6,000 Ukrainian refugees of working age between 18 and 64 who have been in Germany since February 2022.