Government data from 2024 show that more than 317,000 non-German citizens were unemployed for over a year, with costs for income support exceeding €3.2 billion and no full accounting of housing or healthcare expenses.
The number of long-term unemployed foreigners in Germany has risen sharply over the past decade, to the point where almost one in three people without work for at least a year is not a German passport holder.
According to figures from the Federal Employment Agency, 971,981 people in Germany were classified as long-term unemployed in 2024, including 317,377 foreigners. In 2014, that figure stood at just over 196,000. The increase has been particularly steep among asylum seekers, whose numbers have grown fivefold in ten years.
The federal government estimates that basic income support for long-term unemployed foreigners alone cost €3.26 billion in 2024, though it admits it does not track the total cost once housing, healthcare, and pension entitlements are included.
More than half of all long-term unemployed people have been without work for over two years and nearly one in five for more than five years. Critics warn the trend reflects deep structural problems in education, labour market integration and social policy.
