Half of Turks in Germany Do Not Work, Majority 'Not Interested in a Job'

Figures show that almost every second Turk of working age in Germany is “economically inactive”, meaning they are either not in work or officially registered as unemployed.

The latest data from European statistics bureau Eurostat shows that 43 per cent of Turks living in Germany are economically inactive, a figure which rises to 48 per cent according to the country’s Federal Statistics Office.

A report in Die Welt concerning the data explains there are a number of reasons why so many people with Turkish backgrounds aged between 15 and 64 are not in work. stating that around a third are undertaking education or training, while almost one in five retired early for health reasons. A further one in 10 said family duties make holding down a job impossible.

“The vast majority of the [Turks who are] economically inactive declare that  — at least for the moment  — they are not interested in a job,” the German broadsheet reports.

The difference in employment rates between Turks and natives is particularly stark among women, with just a third of Turkish women in work across Europe, the Eurostat data shows.

The rate of one in three applies to Turks living in Germany, according to the Federal Statistics Office 2015 microcensus, which found that Turkish women are only half as likely to be in work as German women  — over whom they have significantly higher birth rates.

Overall in Germany, Welt notes, just 18 per cent of men are economically inactive, a figure which rises to 26 per cent among women.

Breitbart London reported last month that Frankfurt officially became the nation’s first major city in which native Germans comprise less than half the population, with Turks the largest foreign minority.

“We have minorities with relatively large numbers in Frankfurt but no group with a clear majority,” said the city’s integration secretary Sylvia Weber, presenting a 200-page report on inequalities with regards to employment, education, or housing.

Economically, the report showed big disparities between foreigners and Germans, with the income of 49 per cent of people with roots outside Germany falling below the poverty line compared to 23 per cent amongst natives.

In terms of employment rates, Frankfurt Integration and Diversity Monitoring reported that 83 per cent of German men and 78 per cent of German women are in work in the city, figures which drop to 73 per cent and 59 per cent amongst men and women with foreign backgrounds, respectively.