At least 604,000 Ukrainians received basic social security in October, according to the Federal Employment Agency (BA). This money, otherwise only available to local long-term unemployed people, could have been paid out to many more refugees. The numbers are “preliminary and not extrapolated,” admits the BA led by Andrea Nahles of the Social Democrats, as reported by the Junge Freiheit news outlet.
It must be assumed that in October “not all refugees were registered by the job centers” and that the data subsequently changed. The Ukrainians receive the “basic security for job seekers.”
3,450 percent more Ukrainians in basic security
According to the statistics, recipients include 399,500 people of working age and 204,500 children — a steep increase from before the Russian war of aggression when only 17,000 lived off of basic security payments. So, the number increased by 3,453 percent. Compared to the previous survey in August, the number has increased by 58,000 or 10.7 percent.
In comparison, the rise in the number of employed Ukrainians subject to social security contributions was modest. Before the wave of refugees, there were 57,000. Today there are 108,000 – an increase of 89.5 percent. According to the conclusion of BA, 51,000 people from the war-torn country entered the primary job market, while around 25,000 were in marginal employment.
Refugees from Ukraine do not have to go through an asylum procedure. From the first day, they receive the regular basic security that local unemployed people and recognized asylum seekers also receive. On its website, the Federal Employment Agency gives immigrants tips on how to access basic security as quickly as possible.
