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Why are more and more people in Germany working multiple jobs?

More than three million employees in Germany work more than one job, new figures show.

Published: 22 January 2020 10:27 CET
Updated: 22 January 2020 13:07 CET
Why are more and more people in Germany working multiple jobs?
Lots of Germans have more than one job. Photo: DPA

And the number of people working in multiple jobs is going up. At the end of June 2019, around 3.54 million people were registered as having more than one job, according to a response by the Federal Employment Agency (BA) to an inquiry by the Left Party in the Bundestag.

Compared to June 2018, that's an increase of about 123,600 people – a rise of 3.62 percent, reported German regional newspaper, the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung.

The vast majority – just under three million – of those in multiple employment have a so-called mini-job or marginal employment in addition to a job subject to social insurance contributions.

READ ALSO: 10 German words to know when looking for a job

A small number of people have two or more jobs subject to social insurance contributions (about 350,000), while the third most common variant is a combination of two or more so-called mini-jobs (just under 260,700 people).

Mini-jobs in Germany were created to promote higher employment rates through income tax-free marginal employment, with workers making at most €450 a month in part-time jobs.

Politicians say the figures show that many people are struggling to make ends meet.

“For more and more employees, income from one job is no longer sufficient,” said Sabine Zimmermann, member of the Left party. 

Zimmermann called for the minimum wage to be raised to €12 per hour “as a first step”. 

Currently the minimum wage is €9.35 per hour. She also called for Germany to ditch fixed-term contracts and temporary work and ensure companies offer more stable jobs.

Which groups in Germany tend to work multiple jobs?

According to labour market experts, women, those in part-time employment and middle-aged people in particular increasingly need two jobs to make ends meet.

It is still a minority of employees who have two or more jobs: 3.5 million compared to some 39 million employed people in Germany (not counting civil servants and those who are self-employed).

“Nevertheless, the increase is striking, especially since the Hartz reforms (unemployment benefit reforms),” said labour market expert Enzo Weber of the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in an interview with German broadcaster Tagesschau. “Although it is not a majority phenomenon, it is a fairly large minority.”

REVEALED: These are the best and worst paid jobs in Germany

Since 2003, the number of people who have at least one side job in addition to another job subject to social insurance contributions has more than doubled: from 1,386,231 in mid-2003 to 3,537,686 in mid-2019.

At just under 57 percent, there are more women than men represented among the multiple job holders, according to an IAB report. It also revealed that part-time employees are represented more frequently (just under 64 per cent) than full-time employees, and employees between 40 and 50 form the largest group.

IAB researchers say the main motive for taking on several jobs is a financial one: that could be because an employee cannot work as many hours as he or she wants in their main job or because the salary is too low.

A study by the Hans Böckler Foundation's Economic and Social Science Institute confirms this. A total of 53 percent of those surveyed cited financial difficulties as the main reason for picking up an extra job.

Vocabulary

Mini-jobs/ marginal unemployment – (die) geringfügige Beschäftigung

Part-time workers – (die) Teilzeitbeschäftigte

Side job/extra job – (der) Nebenjob

Financial difficulties – (die) finanzielle Schwierigkeiten

We're aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.

 

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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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