Question Time
#1
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Question Time
Have just been watching the last edition of Question Time. One member of the panel - Tim Farron MP said that there are 10,000 unemployed Brits in Germany. I find this hard to believe.
#2
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Re: Question Time
Here's a table which shows about 6,000, far more than unemployed Germans in the UK.
Revealed: thousands of Britons on benefits across EU | UK news | The Guardian
Revealed: thousands of Britons on benefits across EU | UK news | The Guardian
#3
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Re: Question Time
Well, that is a lot less than 10,000 and can you trust any newspapers to print the truth?
#4
Re: Question Time
I also read that there are quite a few unemployed British in Germany.
Anyhow, I believe a lot of the unemployment has to do with British not speaking good German. Somehow some British still seem to think in colonial terms and expect the natives to speak English and serve them tea
Anyhow, I believe a lot of the unemployment has to do with British not speaking good German. Somehow some British still seem to think in colonial terms and expect the natives to speak English and serve them tea
Last edited by Assanah; May 25th 2015 at 7:31 am.
#5
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Re: Question Time
Some people find it easy to learn a new language. Others like myself find it very hard to remember new words. My wife is English so we watch English TV and our German friends all want to practice their English. When we go shopping, many of the assistants ask us to speak English. We have even had Doctors thanking us for going to their surgery as they can practice their English. So, two lumps in my tea please
#7
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Re: Question Time
According to the Bundesagentur für Arbeit, there were 3,243 unemployed Brits in Germany in February 2015. I can't give you a working link but if you search for "Analyse des Arbeitsmarktes für Ausländer Februar 2015" you will find it. The figure is in the table in Section 1.5.
The figure also sounds plausible considering that there are around 100,000 Brits in Germany: de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/1221/umfrage/anzahl-der-auslaender-in-deutschland-nach-herkunftsland/
These are also by no means people who have always been unemployed, as is sometimes implied when the British press talks about immigrants on benefits. Brits in employment in Germany have unemployment insurance deducted from their salaries and at some point become entitled to unemployment insurance if they are made redundant. (The same applies to immigrants in the UK of course.)
The language issue is a red herring, in my opinion. If you are in Germany and you really want to learn German, you don't have to give up just because (some) people want to speak English to you. I think that's just a cheap excuse.
The figure also sounds plausible considering that there are around 100,000 Brits in Germany: de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/1221/umfrage/anzahl-der-auslaender-in-deutschland-nach-herkunftsland/
These are also by no means people who have always been unemployed, as is sometimes implied when the British press talks about immigrants on benefits. Brits in employment in Germany have unemployment insurance deducted from their salaries and at some point become entitled to unemployment insurance if they are made redundant. (The same applies to immigrants in the UK of course.)
The language issue is a red herring, in my opinion. If you are in Germany and you really want to learn German, you don't have to give up just because (some) people want to speak English to you. I think that's just a cheap excuse.
#8
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Re: Question Time
Where is Giggleswick?