People With Immigration Background Underrepresented Across Several Industries & Professions in Germany
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- People with immigration history represent 52 per cent of the low-skilled population in Germany.
- They tend to hold fewer managerial positions or academic roles, while catering and cleaning are dominated by them - representing 60 per cent of the workforce.
- Despite the significant migrant population, only 18 per cent of managerial roles and 19 per cent of academic professions are held by these individuals.
People who have a history of immigration to Germany, indicating those who migrated to the country since 1950, represent the majority of workers in the catering and cleaning professions, while they are underrepresented in managerial and academic positions.
According to data by Destatis, the German Federal Statistical Office, 60 per cent of workers between the ages 15 and 64 in cleaning jobs have an immigrant background, while those in the catering industry represent 46 per cent of all workers. In addition, 51 per cent of cooks are of immigrant origin.
Data show that a quarter of all employed people of working age in Germany had an immigration history, meaning that the share of employed people in this group is lower than their population share, which stands at 28 per cent.
Under Half of Construction & Transport Jobs Held by Workers That Have an Immigration Background
Four out of ten workers in these two industries are workers of immigration backgrounds. These people represented 38 per cent of all employees of transport and logistics workers in the country.
Drivers, including professional bus and tram drivers, are mainly occupied by workers of immigration history as they represent 40 per cent of all workers.
Civil engineering professions are common among immigrant background workers, as they represent 36 per cent of the total workers in this industry, while in building construction professions, this share was 40 per cent, and in interior design professions, it was 34 per cent.
Almost One-Third of Workers in Elderly Care Have Immigration History
Data show that 30 per cent of employees of working age had an immigration background. The same group holds around 27 per cent of human and dentistry doctors, while the proportion is higher for personal care professions such as hairdressers, standing at 36 per cent.
Workers of immigrant backgrounds are rare in other professions, especially law enforcement jobs. Destatis shows that one in 16 employed people in police have an immigration history, including here court and prison jobs. This means that six per cent of workers in Germany are of such background. In addition, around ten per cent are in the general armed forces.
Education is also one sector that is barely explored by professionals of such background, as 11 per cent are employed as school teachers. Agriculture is another sector with fewer workers in this category (11 per cent), while they represent 16 per cent of workers in banking and insurance professions.
Migration-Background Workers Less Likely to Work as Managers or in Academic Professions
Only 18 per cent of all people holding managerial roles in Germany have an immigration background, although the country is heavily populated by migrants or those with an immigration history.
The same applies to academic professions, where 19 per cent of those employed had an immigration history. In total, these workers represent 52 per cent of the low-skilled workforce in the country.