Germany increases security staff to manage refugee influx

BERLIN (Reuters) - A record influx of refugees has increased demand for security staff in Germany, the federal employment agency said on Monday, as the burden of managing large numbers of arrivals and securing refugee centers grows. In its monthly job index, the agency noted a sharp rise in demand for security guards in the social and public sector. "This increase may be linked in particular to the large demand for workers to help manage refugees," the agency said. More than 690 arson and other attacks have been carried out on refugee centers so far this year, as Germany expects up to one million asylum seekers. This compares to 198 for the whole of last year. The German government and its federal states want to increase controls of security personal, the Sueddeutsche-Zeitung reported on Monday, citing a benchmark paper from the federal-state committee. Following the Paris attacks on Nov. 13, the German government said its security agencies had intensified monitoring of radical right-wing activists, fearing a backlash against refugees. As local authorities struggle to cope with the surge in new arrivals, tensions have also simmered among asylum seekers. A mass brawl broke out at a refugee shelter at Berlin's disused Tempelhof airport as lunch was being served on Sunday and more than 100 police were called in to restore order. (Reporting by Caroline Copley; editing by Ralph Boulton)