High Percentage of Unemployed Immigrants Hardly Lowers the German Population's Approval of Unemployment Benefits

The unemployment benefits by the government enjoy a high level of approval by the German population. A high percentage of unemployed immigrants does not change this fact. An increase in the percentage of unemployed immigrants by one percentage point lowers the approval of unemployment benefits by the government by only 0.014 points on a scale from zero to five. This is the finding of a study conducted by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim. The study analyses the relation between the regional percentage of unemployed immigrants and the general approval of German citizens towards unemployment benefits by the government.

The study analyses data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) from 1997 and 2002. The SOEP survey not only provides information on the labour market status, civil status and place of residence, but also reveals the survey participants’ attitude towards unemployment benefits. The study suggests that the survey participants consider it the government’s responsibility to provide financial support to unemployed persons.

A random sample of SOEP is combined with the data of the official statistics about the percentage of immigrants among registered unemployed persons to analyse if immigration changes the approval of unemployment benefits by the government. The result shows if the approval by Germans towards unemployment benefits by the government decreases if the regional share of unemployed immigrants increases. On average, immigrants make up 13 percent of unemployed persons in all regions. However, this percentage varies largely depending on the region. For instance, Baden-Wuerttemberg overall has a lover unemployment rate but immigrants make up 24 percent of unemployed. In Brandenburg this percentage is only one percent.

The study indicates that there is a negative relation between the regional percentage of unemployed immigrants and the German population’s approval of unemployment benefits by the government. However, this negative relation is not very distinct. Even the largest factor found in the study indicates that an increase of unemployed immigrants by one percentage point lowers German natives’ approval of unemployment benefits by the government by only 0.014 points on a scale from zero to five.

Other factors like background, gender or status on the labour market have considerably more influence on the citizens’ attitude towards unemployment benefits. Women, employees with lower income and East Germans tend to approve the unemployment benefits by the government.

For further information please contact

Dr. Holger Stichnoth, Phone: +49 (0)621/1235-362, E-mail: stichnoth@zew.de