Aging Germany is dependent on immigration of skilled workers from abroad. In many professions it is already impossible without people with a migration background.
In many professional fields, the German labor market, which has been plagued by a shortage of skilled workers, has only been functioning for years thanks to people with foreign roots. The Federal Statistical Office announced based on figures for 2022 that there are above-average numbers of employees with a history of immigration, particularly in cleaning professions (60 percent) and in the catering industry (46 percent).
Overall, a quarter (25 percent) of all employed people aged 15 to 64 that year had a migrant background. According to the Wiesbaden authorities, a person with an immigration history is someone who has immigrated to Germany since 1950 or whose both parents have immigrated since 1950.
In 2022, the proportion of this population group was also above average in transport and logistics occupations (38 percent) and in construction (36 percent). In geriatric care, almost a third (30 percent) of employees aged 15 to 64 had an immigration history. For doctors it was 27 percent, and for personal care professions, which include hairdressers and beauticians, it was 36 percent.
On the other hand, it is comparatively rare for employees with an immigration history to be found, for example, in the police or in the judiciary, where in 2022 only one or one in 16 employees had an immigration history (6 percent). For teachers at general schools, the proportion was 11 percent. In banking and insurance professions, the proportion of employees with foreign roots was 16 percent.
Source: Stern
