A recent study has revealed the significant and potentially short-lived, impact of Germany’s “Jobturbo” initiative, designed to expedite the integration of refugees, particularly those from Ukraine, into the workforce. Conducted by a team of international researchers affiliated with the Immigration Policy Lab, the study, reported by “Der Spiegel”, attributes a net increase of 102,000 employment placements to the program introduced in October 2023. Approximately 58,000 of these placements benefited Ukrainian refugees, while 44,000 benefited individuals from other origins.
Moritz Marbach, a researcher at University College London and co-author of the study, emphasized that these placements represented genuinely new entrants to the labor market, those who would not have found employment without the “Jobturbo” intervention. Crucially, the study noted that these were overwhelmingly positions subject to social security contributions and indicated sustained employment. The initiative proved effective across all age groups, federal states and skill levels, with no observed negative consequences such as qualified workers being relegated to low-wage jobs.
Researchers involved in the project, which has been monitoring integration efforts globally for fifteen years, characterized the “Jobturbo’s” impact as unprecedented. Jens Hainmüller, another co-author, stated that the team had “never seen such large effects.
The “Jobturbo” represented a strategic shift by the former coalition government, streamlining the referral of Ukrainian refugees to job centers, accelerating placement and facilitating language acquisition alongside professional development and recognition of foreign qualifications.
However, the current black-red coalition government is now poised to effectively dismantle this program. A planned policy change, set to take effect after March 1, 2025, will exclude newly arriving Ukrainian refugees from receiving unemployment benefits, instead classifying them as asylum seekers. This change removes them from the job center’s purview, stripping them of the mandatory requirements to seek employment, participate in training, or attend consultations – effectively ending the “Jobturbo’s” core function. This abrupt policy reversal raises concerns among researchers about the potential loss of a demonstrably successful integration strategy and the potential for reversing the gains observed. Analysts suggest the move reflects broader shifts in government policy, signalling a less welcoming approach to refugee integration despite the evidence highlighting the “Jobturbo’s” positive impact. The timing and swiftness of the planned elimination has prompted questions about the political motivations underpinning the decision and its long-term consequences for refugee integration in Germany.
