The majority of migrants who arrived during the massive influx in 2015 have been unable to find work, although the government at the time opened up the country's the borders in a bid to address labour shortages. Today, many unemployed migrants receive as much monthly "pay" as Germans working full-time jobs.

Seven years have passed since the 2015 mass migration wave, when Germany opened its borders to more than 1.2 million migrants, mostly coming form Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria. In justification of the government’s decision, then Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany was struggling with severe labour shortages and that skilled refugees could fill most of the vacancies.

Latest figures, however, reveal that the German government made a bad miscalculation. Almost 700 thousand of the migrants who arrived in 2015 are still unemployed, and only 460 thousand of them are actively seeking work. 88 per cent of the refugees are unskilled and appear completely reluctant to upgrade their skills. These migrants are granted regular unemployment benefits, the amount of which partly depends on their country of origin. By today, the situation has reached a point where an unemployed migrant reliant on state benefits receives nearly as much money a month as an average working German, or even more in some cases. Looking at these figures, people are furious, and rightly so.

Instead of making a major correction to its self-destructive trajectory, Germany continues to slide downwards,

the opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) party points out. „Policies are needed that once again serve the people who live and work here,” the party said.

#Fachkräfte? Fehlanzeige! 900.000 #Merkel–#Migranten leben von #HartzIV! ++

„Es wird bunter werden – ja, wie wunderbar ist das?“ – Der frenetische Jubel der #Altparteien-Vertreter während der #Flüchtlingskrise 2015 wirkt heute wie …https://t.co/RsOELmUFRv #afd pic.twitter.com/J2kxiVCJ77

— Alternative für 🇩🇪 Deutschland (@AfD) May 25, 2022

The German government led by Olaf Scholz would further aggravate the situation by repealing the current regulation, which sets out that unemployed people receive less benefit if they reject job offers or trainings. Norbert Kleinwachte, the deputy leader of AfD’s parliamentary group, says this is akin to humiliating working people. In a speech in parliament he opined that

„the current regulation mocks all those who get up early in the morning, go to work and return home exhausted in the evening, yet they hardly receive more at the end of the month than those on social benefits.”

Some can rightfully ask why they should bother going to work in the first place, the politician added.

That the current German government has not learnt from the mistakes of the former cabinet one is well illustrated by the fact that Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has not given up the idea of Germany establishing an international coalition, whose members would accept and support the reception of migrants. This is how the German government intends to tackle its problem of drastically swelling labour shortages, just like Angela Merkel’s cabinet 7 years ago.

Bevor alle EU-Staaten „Solidarität“ zeigen, schreitet Deutschland voran https://t.co/yy4rHMyynY pic.twitter.com/spjwViiTGb

— WELT (@welt) January 18, 2022