It is not only black people who are disadvantaged in Germany. People from Eastern Europe -including Ukrainians – also experience discrimination. This is shown by the study “Discrimination against people from Eastern Europe – the job center as an interface between the labor market and the welfare state,” which was funded by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency. According to the study, anti-Eastern European stereotypes can occur in job centers and affect counseling, assessments, and decisions about support.
“Mistrust as the norm”
The study describes situations in which social debates about citizen’s income and narratives about “social abuse” spill over into everyday practice. This can manifest itself in increased skepticism, stricter checks, a harsher tone, particularly critical interpretation of documents, or in the fact that support instruments that would be formally possible are not actively offered.
Difficult „special status“
The authors mention that Ukrainians’ faster access to benefits under SGB II was perceived by parts of the public and also by employees as a “special status.” They are not classified as asylum seekers, but receive citizen’s income. This gives rise to conflicting expectations: on the one hand, the idea that Ukrainians will “integrate quickly,” and on the other hand, resentment due to perceived “unequal treatment” compared to other groups. According to the study, this had a partial impact on communication and the willingness to provide comprehensive support. However, Sinti and Roma from Bulgaria or Romania are also affected by racist discrimination. They are often described as lazy and criminal.
Language, children, qualifications: underestimated hurdles
The study emphasizes that lower employment rates are often not due to a “reluctance to work,” but to real hurdles—language, a lack of childcare places, a complex and lengthy recognition process, bureaucracy, and the psychological consequences of war. In this context, the authors point to the risk of “job turbo”: the pressure to quickly accept any job can reduce the time available for language learning and qualification – and thus lead to precarious or low-paid employment. Resentment could also lead to people from Ukraine being prematurely pushed into low-wage jobs.
About the study
The report, published in December 2025, analyzes the experiences of Ukrainians who have come to Germany since the start of Russia’s war of aggression. Other people from Eastern Europe were also interviewed. It is based on 82 qualitative interviews conducted in 22 job centers between September 2023 and May 2024. The interviewees included government employees, affected individuals, and experts in counseling and law.
https://www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de/SharedDocs/downloads/DE/publikationen/Expertisen/studie_jobcenter.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2
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