The unemployment rate for people with a non-Western ethnic background has fallen sharply in the Danish capital, according to figures from its municipality.
In 2011, some 17.9 percent of all Copenhageners with a non-Western background were jobless, but now that figure stands at 12.2.
“It means a lot to me as a person because Copenhagen is a rich municipality, so a large group of our citizens should not be left behind on the platform and never come out of the apartment,” Anna Mee Allerslev, the employment and integration minister, told Metroxpress.
“And then it of course means more money for the municipal coffers.”
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The decline is partly down to municipal efforts to send more unemployed immigrants into subsidised internships where they can learn new skills and potentially even get a paid position.
This was the case for 51-year-old Meng-Hsian Yang from Taiwan, who after years of unemployment got a business internship at Paradise Is and six months later landed a paid job at the ice cream company.
The unemployment rate for Copenhageners with a Danish background is 4.7 percent.
Today, the municipality has presented a new integration action plan for 2017-2018, which earmarks 4.5 million kroner annually to helping more people with a non-Western background get a job.
Another 3 million kroner will be allocated to creating part-time jobs for youths, 2 million kroner will be used on combating cultural paradigms, 0.9 million will be spent on combating discrimination and 0.6 million will be used annually on public efforts concerning refugees.
