Basics: Determinants and profiles of new immigration
Recently, migration to Europe and Germany is becoming increasingly dynamic and complex. It is determined by a variety of internal and external circumstances (push factors). In past years, "new labour migration" from other EU Member States represented the largest share of immigration. Even though the quantitative conditions will change in the foreseeable future due to the current sharp increase in the number of refugees in Germany, it is likely that the remaining migrants from the EU in Germany will continue to represent a large share of immigration. New labour migration within the EU is a phenomenon that was characterized at the beginning of the century by the first phase of labour migration from Central and Southeast Europe to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain and Italy. With the onset of the economic crisis in 2008, a second phase began, which was characterized on the one hand by strong deflection effects: Mobile workers, who had up until then migrated toward North-western and Southern Europe were migrating to Central Europe, mainly to Germany. In addition to the deflection effects, an immigration movement from the former countries of immigration in Southern Europe and in particular from Spain and at later point Italy began, for which Germany was also the primarily target destination. Most new immigrants came to Germany from Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, especially from Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, as well as from the Mediterranean countries, especially from Italy, Spain and Greece.
The current processes in the area of labour migration within Europe are characterized by
(a) a higher level of mobility of migrants;
(b) the above-average level of education;
(c) the low average age of new immigrants;
(d) the higher requirements regarding their occupational and social integration;
(e) less control options for the state and
(f) completely new aspects such as migration within the dual system of vocational training and intensive use of social media for information and community building.
The search for work is also a driving factor in labour migration from so-called third countries (non-EU countries). The latter plays a rather insignificant role in quantitative terms, whereas the easing of numerous legal requirements aims to gain a larger number of skilled workers for the German labour market in the future. Refugees, foreign graduates and family members are also to be taken into consideration in migration research in the context of potential skilled workers and integration into the labour market. In view of the sharp increase in the number of people in Germany seeking protection as refugees, questions regarding the professional profiles of the refugees and prerequisites for their integration into the labour market are increasingly arising. So far very little known about this. In the next few years, significant expansion of research into the qualifications and skills of refugees is to be expected.
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