Sending Syrian refugees back to their country of origin could have negative effects on the German economy, widen the skills gap and be troubling for industries where labour shortages are prevalent, an analysis published on Wednesday showed.
There are some 80,000 Syrians employed in so-called shortage occupations such as automotive engineering technicians, doctors, dentists and in climate-relevant jobs such as in the heating and air conditioning sector, a study by the employer-affiliated German Economic Institute (IW) in Cologne showed.
In the automotive engineering sector, more than 4,000 were recently working technicians in a field in which almost seven out of 10 positions cannot be filled with qualified professionals, the IW said.
Germany employs some 5,300 Syrian doctors. Their return would exacerbate the skills shortage and lead to supply bottlenecks, the study asserted.
In dentistry, according to statistics, there were around 2,470 employees while some 2,260 working in childcare and education, and 2,160 in health and nursing care. Many Syrians have climate-relevant jobs in construction electrician (2,100) as well as in sanitary, heating and air conditioning technology (1,570).
"Syrian employees are important for the German labour market. They make a significant contribution to mitigating the skills shortage in Germany," said IW economist and study author Fabian Semsarha.
The powers-that-be "should offer a secure perspective for staying," the study said. Semsarha called on policymakers to provide a secure perspective for employed Syrians to stay and believes that the contribution of Syrian professionals is often underestimated.
According to the Federal Employment Agency, between June 2023 and May 2024, an average of over 213,500 people of Syrian origin were employed in jobs requiring payments into the country's social security system, which helps support pensioners.
Of these, 86,000 were working in support roles and 127,000 in qualified jobs for professionals with vocational training or a degree. Another roughly 155,000 are registered as unemployed and are immediately available to the labour market, according to the IW.
The study follows calls from union leaders and companies to the German government to ensure that Syrian workers can stay in the country, following the fall of the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. These groups echoed the IW analysis, agreeing that if Syrian workers left, the difficulties companies have in finding qualified workers would get worse.
