'Over a quarter' of Ukrainian refugees in Denmark now working
Over 4,200 Ukrainian refugees are now working in Denmark, with the employment rate in the group quickly increasing.
Over 2,500 people from Ukraine have entered employment since May, when the total number employed was 1,645. It rose to 2,724 in July and is now 4,290.
The figures come from the Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment.
Overall, more than a quarter of Ukrainian refugees who have been granted residence in Denmark and are of working age are now employed, broadcaster DR reports.
The employment data shows an increasing rate of success for Ukrainians looking for work in the country, an analyst said.
“There are actually 2,500 people who have found work since May, so that’s a big jump forward,” labour researcher and professor at Roskilde University Bent Greve told DR.
“Combined with the fact that they have mainly found jobs in hotels, restaurants, agriculture and cleaning, this has helped to reduce the pressure on the Danish labour market,” he said.
Employment minister Peter Hummelgaard welcomed the data.
“If you compare with some of the other major refugee flows Denmark has received over the years, this is very, very good and very, very many people have successfully found work,” Hummelgaard told DR.
The data shows variation in employment rates for Ukrainian refugees in different municipalities.
More than half of Ukrainians in South Jutland municipality Tønder are currently registered as working. In Frederikssund, the figure is around 10 percent.
Hummelgaard said he had no obvious explanation for this variation but suggested that some municipalities may have more jobs in which Danish language proficiency is not needed. There are also differences in the number of Ukrainians settled in different municipalities.
“I’d rather not stand here and conclude that it’s because some municipalities aren’t good enough, but it’s certainly something we should analyse more closely,” he said.
“It’s not the intention that you should have better conditions for getting a job should because you live in one municipality rather than another,” he said.
Greve said it was unlikely that all Ukrainians will eventually find work. This is due to a number of factors, including plans to return home, language issues, trauma or a lack of training, he said to DR.
But there is potential for the current number to be improved upon with the right measures from job centres, municipalities and businesses, he said.
“Companies should be even more aware than they have been that labour can be found by going out to job centres,” he said.
“And there are also several municipalities that, very sensibly, are offering courses to get some of these Ukrainians into welfare areas within the public sector, where there is also a labour shortage,” he said.
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Over 2,500 people from Ukraine have entered employment since May, when the total number employed was 1,645. It rose to 2,724 in July and is now 4,290.
The figures come from the Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment.
Overall, more than a quarter of Ukrainian refugees who have been granted residence in Denmark and are of working age are now employed, broadcaster DR reports.
The employment data shows an increasing rate of success for Ukrainians looking for work in the country, an analyst said.
“There are actually 2,500 people who have found work since May, so that’s a big jump forward,” labour researcher and professor at Roskilde University Bent Greve told DR.
“Combined with the fact that they have mainly found jobs in hotels, restaurants, agriculture and cleaning, this has helped to reduce the pressure on the Danish labour market,” he said.
Employment minister Peter Hummelgaard welcomed the data.
“If you compare with some of the other major refugee flows Denmark has received over the years, this is very, very good and very, very many people have successfully found work,” Hummelgaard told DR.
The data shows variation in employment rates for Ukrainian refugees in different municipalities.
More than half of Ukrainians in South Jutland municipality Tønder are currently registered as working. In Frederikssund, the figure is around 10 percent.
Hummelgaard said he had no obvious explanation for this variation but suggested that some municipalities may have more jobs in which Danish language proficiency is not needed. There are also differences in the number of Ukrainians settled in different municipalities.
“I’d rather not stand here and conclude that it’s because some municipalities aren’t good enough, but it’s certainly something we should analyse more closely,” he said.
“It’s not the intention that you should have better conditions for getting a job should because you live in one municipality rather than another,” he said.
Greve said it was unlikely that all Ukrainians will eventually find work. This is due to a number of factors, including plans to return home, language issues, trauma or a lack of training, he said to DR.
But there is potential for the current number to be improved upon with the right measures from job centres, municipalities and businesses, he said.
“Companies should be even more aware than they have been that labour can be found by going out to job centres,” he said.
“And there are also several municipalities that, very sensibly, are offering courses to get some of these Ukrainians into welfare areas within the public sector, where there is also a labour shortage,” he said.
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