Immigrants in Germany / 555,000 more than last year came in the first six months of this year

The Federal Statistics Office said 555,000 more people came to Germany in the first six months of the year than in the same period in 2012, as the trend of double digit increases in immigration persists for a third consecutive year.

German unemployment is lower and economic growth more robust than in most other EU member states, making it an attractive destination despite regulatory hurdles involved in moving and the language barrier.

“As in the first half of 2012, immigration rose from EU countries hit especially hard by the financial and debt crisis,” the Office said in a statement.

Numbers of immigrants from Italy and Spain were up 39 percent and 30 percent respectively, although in absolute terms, new arrivals from Poland and Romania were largest.

A total of 93,000 Poles and 67,000 Romanians came to Germany in the first half compared with 26,000 Italians and 15,000 Spaniards. The number of Greeks fell 4.5 percent to 15,000.

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via Italian, Spanish jobseekers lift German immigration figures | Reuters.