The United States regained the lead in the number of asylum seekers
As reported by Deutsche Welle, 1.23 million people received official recognition as refugees. These are primarily people from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. 40 percent of recognized refugees are relatives of migrants who arrived in OECD countries under family reunification programs.
The United States regained first place in the number of asylum applications (330,000 people). In Germany, which became the leader in this indicator in 2015, the number of asylum seekers fell by 73 percent to 198,000 people.
Despite the decline in the number of new refugees, their influx could have a negative impact on the labor market in countries such as Sweden, Germany and Austria in the coming years, the report says. In Germany, the unemployment rate could rise to 6 percent by 2020 (in 2018 this figure is 5.5 percent). In the event of an influx of labor migrants from Eastern European countries, the unemployment rate could be significantly higher.
In the labor market, refugees and most other migrants compete primarily with young locals with low levels of education. The OECD recommendations therefore speak of the need not only to implement effective integration policies, but also to strengthen support for the group of local population that is threatened with unemployment due to the influx of migrants.