Job market in Berlin
posted by engelchen + in Germany forum
I don't know where you heard that it is easy to find work in Berlin, especially if you don't know German, however, you have been thoroughly misinformed.
The unemployment rate for Germany was 6,7% for Germans and 15,0% for foreigners in January 2012. The unemployment rate in Berlin in January 2012 was 11,6% for Germans and 25,5% for foreigners (keep in mind that the unemployment rate only includes the people officially registered as out of work).
Furthermore, the underemployment rate for Germany has been around 9% in the past year, in Berlin it has been between 17% - 18% (I couldn't find statistics on the underemployment rate for foreigners, however, I suspect that it is much higher than the average).
With neither a degree in IT nor engineering it is very difficult to find any type of skilled work in Berlin. On the other hand, both Frankfurt and Zurich have many jobs in the finance sector that usually don't require German.