According to new figures from the Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment (ALMR), foreign workers are an increasing part of the Danish labour force.

The figures reveal that 12.2 percent of full-time workers in Denmark in 2022 were foreigners – up from 5.7 percent in 2008.

That’s the equivalent of an additional 175,000 full-time foreign workers over the past 14 years.

“It means that foreign labour has really carried a lot of weight – in terms of labour market progres and economic growth,” Niklas Praefkem, an economist with union organisation Lederne, told TV2 News.

“Without foreign labour, we wouldn’t be as well off in Denmark as we are now.”

A survey from Lederne, a union for business leaders, also revealed that 28 percent of members said they wouldn’t be able to run their companies without the help of foreign workers.

Sectors that enjoy a particularly high frequency of foreign workers are agriculture, forestry, fishing, hotels and restaurants. 

READ ALSO: More non-western foreigners finding work

Ukrainians eager to work
Figures from ALMR also showed that the Ukrainians who fled to Denmark to escape Russia’s invasion have not been idle.

Of the almost 12,500 who have been granted residence in Denmark and who municipalities consider work-ready, 7,218 (58 percent) have found jobs.

It’s up to individual municipalities to ascertain whether someone is work-ready based on their qualifications, competencies and development potential. But they must be aged 16-66.

Language is one of the biggest barriers keeping Ukrainians from finding work and the employment minister, Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen, said the government wants to get more into language courses.

The top 10 sectors in which Ukrainians have found work are:

– travel, cleaning or other service

– hotels and restaurants

– agriculture, forestry and fishing

– trade

– industry

– construction

– transportation

– health and social services

– other services sectors

– education