The German economy is weakening — and yet many sectors desperately need skilled workers, including the medical professions, especially nursing, as well as IT, and construction. Germany also has a shortage of educators, cooks, and people who can drive trucks and buses. At the end of 2024, there were around 1.4 million unfilled positions in German companies nationwide.

At the same time, more and more immigrants are coming to Germany to work. In 2024, the proportion of foreign employees was just over 16%. It has more than doubled since 2010. Employment in medical professions is disproportionately high. More than one in six doctors is a foreign citizen. In nursing, employment growth since 2022 has been exclusively attributable to foreign personnel. Currently, one in five workers in this sector is an immigrant.

But do these people actually want to stay in Germany in the long term? The Institute for Employment Research (IAB) at the Federal Employment Agency has now presented a study on this issue, based on a representative online survey of 50,000 people born abroad who immigrated to Germany between the ages of 18 and 65. The survey excludes asylum seekers who do not yet have recognized residence status in Germany. The survey period ran from December 2024 to April 2025.

"Twenty-six percent, or around 2.6 million people, say that they actually considered leaving Germany last year, i.e., they thought about leaving the country," said Yuliya Kosyakova, head of the Migration, Integration, and International Labor Market Research Division at the........

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