Refugees‘ employment take up – Reservation wages decline with longer duration of stay

Abstract

"Refugees are not as well prepared for migration as other migrants, so they are often less well informed about the functioning and requirements of the German labor market. Their reservation wage – the minimum hourly wage required to take up employment – is higher than the average level of other migrant groups in Germany in the first two years after immigration. The findings in this report suggest that imperfect information can bias refugees' expectations about feasible earnings when seeking employment: Refugees' reservation wages decline with longer duration of stay and are lower for refugees who have already searched for jobs through employment agencies and job centers or have acquired work experience in Germany. As expected, the probability of finding employment decreases as reservation wages increase. However, this relationship plays a rather minor role for refugees." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Jaschke, P., Vallizadeh, E., Brücker, H. & Altenburg, M. (2022): Beschäftigungsaufnahme von Geflüchteten: Anspruchslöhne sinken mit längerer Aufenthaltsdauer. (IAB-Kurzbericht 20/2022), Nürnberg, 8 p. DOI:10.48720/IAB.KB.2220