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Poverty rises despite more people in work

As figures show an increase in poverty despite record employment rates, and the potential new government argues about a universal minimum wage, German job centres are suing employers for paying less than €2 an hour.

Published: 26 November 2013 14:08 CET
Poverty rises despite more people in work
Employment has reached record levels but wages have stayed low. Photo: DPA

When businesses take on people who have been unemployed, the state will top up low wages via job centres to help them into work, but this has led to many cases where employers are clearly taking advantage of the situation.

Next month a lawyer from Brandenburg will appear in Senftenberg labour court for paying his two office workers an hourly rate of €1.70 – meaning that although they were working, they were almost fully supported by the state.

Last month the same court ordered a firm in Lünnenau to pay a salesman €1,560 in back pay after employing him for just €2.84 an hour. The court said he should have received twice as much. A pizza delivery firm was sued by the Uckermark job centre for paying its workers €1.59, €1.65 and €2.72 an hour.

There are no numbers to show how many people are being paid such pathetic wages, which effectively condemns them to remain dependent on subsistence-level government top-ups, but Berlin and Brandenburg state governments are setting up a working group on the matter.

Such wages, along with part-time jobs and shift-work are some of the reasons why statistics show that although there are more jobs in Germany than ever, the risk of being poor here has risen slightly.

The 'Data Report 2013' issued by the National Statistics Office, shows that last year 41.6 million people in Germany had a job – more than ever before, the Süddeutsche newspaper reported on Tuesday.

But at the same time the risk of being poor was rising – 16.1 percent of people in Germany were officially classified as 'poverty endangered' – a rise of 0.9 percent on the figure from 2007. Those who had less than €980 a month were considered poor.

Those most at risk were people between 18 and 24, as they were most likely to be in education or training – and people between 55 and 64. Women were also significantly more likely to be poor than men, the numbers showed.

Being poor means people die earlier than those with more money, the figures also showed. Men in the lowest income group died nearly 11 years earlier than those with more money. For women the cost was eight years of life.

Germany's main two political parties are this week wrangling over whether to introduce a universal minimum wage, which the Social Democrats have long called to be set at €8.50 an hour.

READ MORE: Germany to introduce minimum wage

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WORKING IN GERMANY

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Bavaria is no doubt a beautiful state with a strong economy, but can be a hard place for non-German speakers to integrate. The Local takes a look at job opportunities in Germany’s southeastern 'Free State.'

Published: 7 February 2024 10:54 CET
Updated: 10 February 2024 08:20 CET
Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions. 

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds. 

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local. 

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with. 

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