How employers and workers are experiencing it
A business owner in Munich looks at the list of vacancies and increasingly sees Ukrainian names. For the owner of a small business this means fewer idle periods and positions filled more quickly. For a person from Ukraine it is work that allows them to pay the bills and look to the future differently than a month ago.
Those who buy foreign currency or plan investments also notice the signal. Rising employment means that demand for goods and services may grow, and this affects local labour and consumer markets. But at the same time overall employment in Germany is falling, and this creates a dual context for assessing the changes.
The mechanics of the rise in employment of Ukrainians in Germany
The German Institute for Employment Research (IAB) recorded that in July 2026 approximately 409,7 thousand citizens of Ukraine were working in Germany. That is 63 thousand more than a year earlier and accordingly 18,3 percent. By comparison, total employment in the country over this period fell by approximately 180 thousand people.
The employment rate among Ukrainians rose from 36,2 percent in July 2025 to 39,9 percent in July 2026. The number of unemployed Ukrainian citizens in September fell to 206,5 thousand, which is 4,6 percent less than the figure a year earlier. The calculated unemployment rate for this group fell from 39,3 percent to 33,9 percent.
Ukrainian economist Oleksandr Kostyuk in his Facebook post said that the rise in employment is occurring despite the overall reduction in employment in the country. He noted: «This means that Ukrainians are increasingly becoming not only a social group in need of support, but a real reserve for the German labour market. Germans know what they need from Ukraine — people.»
Social assistance and demographic indicators among Ukrainians
In June 2026, 636,9 thousand Ukrainian citizens received payments under the SGB II (Social Code Book II) programme, which is a basic social assistance programme. The share of recipients within the relevant Ukrainian group over the year fell from 56,1 percent to 49,9 percent. This indicates a gradual reduction in part of the community’s dependence on assistance, but the number of recipients remains large.
In August 2026, 1,432 million Ukrainian citizens were resident in Germany, which is 5,2 percent more than a year earlier. Based on January–July results, Ukrainians accounted for approximately 13 percent of all arrivals to the country and were the largest single source of new immigration by citizenship. Kostyuk adds that in terms of labour market integration Germany still lags behind Poland, the Czech Republic and Denmark, but the gap is narrowing.
Outflow of workers and labour market indicators in Ukraine
Alongside developments in Germany, the number of officially employed people in Ukraine is falling. According to data cited by Slovo i dilo with reference to the State Employment Service, in 2021 official employment stood at 12,8 million. In 2025 this figure fell to 10,9 million, and in the first quarter of 2026 it was approximately 9,5 million.
Over the last three years, each year around 2,6–2,7 million people lost official employment. In just the first four months of 2026 the number of dismissals reached 884 thousand. These figures help explain why a significant portion of Ukrainians seek employment abroad and why their share in the German labour market is growing.
