Migration and Work: More Than Just a Worker

Immigrants, people with a migration background, and individuals who face racial discrimination* are part of the workforce in Germany and play key roles in various sectors—including those facing a shortage of skilled workers. 

At the same time, recent DeZIM publications show that employment alone does not guarantee equal participation for everyone. Many people’s experiences are shaped by barriers to recognition, access to the labor market, discrimination in the workplace, or the risk of poverty despite having a job. 

Good work therefore means more than just employment: it requires fair opportunities, recognition, living wages, and protection from discrimination. 

It is precisely here that DeZIM’s surveys and research are of central importance: to draw attention, based on data, to the situation of international skilled workers, people with a migration background, and individuals subject to racial discrimination in the German labor market, and to formulate recommendations for policy action.  

* The analyses in the NaDiRa reports rely, among other things, on self-identification. Respondents can identify themselves, for example, as Black, Asian, Muslim, or Eastern European—sometimes summarized in the report as “racially marked”—as well as as Germans with and without a migration background. Multiple selection options are possible simultaneously. 

Work is a central arena of social participation. 

Immigrants have long been part of the German labor market. They are more frequently employed in precarious jobs and perform work below their skill level for lower wages. ¹

In 2023, around 70% (69.2%)²of immigrants of working age (15–64 years) were employed and contributed to the financing of the welfare state.

At the same time, more than 60% of employed people without German citizenship work in skilled professions. ² 

In 2023, 1.3 million people without German citizenship were disproportionately represented in high-demand shortage occupations: 

• 35% in food service,

• 31.2% as cooks, 

• 29.7% as professional drivers. 

Work does not protect everyone equally from poverty. 

The NaDiRa Focus Report “Limits of Equality: Racism and the Risk of Poverty” ³ on racism and poverty shows:

Even people with full-time jobs can be at risk of poverty—especially groups that are also affected by racism.

Despite full-time employment, one in five Muslim men, one in five Asian women, and one in five Black women in Germany are at risk of poverty. 

Skilled labor shortage? 

Skills shortages and demographic change are perennial topics in politics and the media. Migration is often presented as the solution.  

That is not wrong—but it is incomplete. Because viewing people solely as “labor” ignores their rights, experiences, and lived realities. 

Ten focus groups⁴ in the DeZIM project “Migration Narratives and Demographic Potentials”⁵ have an ambivalent response to the migration-affirming narrative surrounding the shortage of skilled workers: 

• Negative: It reduces migrants to their economic utility and excludes, for example, people who can contribute less to societal prosperity.

• Positive: Participants who themselves came to Germany for work or education, however, also see opportunities for themselves in such a narrative.

Barriers in the Labor Market 

Many respondents⁵ criticize that arriving in Germany is often portrayed as easier than it actually is. 

Having a job alone does not guarantee equal participation. 

Many people work below their qualifications, face barriers to entering the labor market, or are at risk of poverty despite having a job. 

Barriers exist, for example:

• access to the labor market,

• in recognition procedures,

• housing,

• residence security, and

• dealing with discrimination.

   

Example: Nursing Care—Skilled Workers Needed, but Not Always Protected 

The findings of the policy brief “Racism in Nursing: On the Situation of Internationally Recruited Nursing Staff in Germany”⁶ show that internationally recruited nursing staff experience racism on three levels (structural, institutional, interpersonal).^⁷ 

These include insecure residency and working conditions (structural level), opaque recognition procedures, a lack of protection measures (institutional level), and racist experiences in everyday work (interpersonal level). 

The consequences affect not only the nursing staff themselves—but also the quality and stability of care. 

.... for care workers

• Multiple stressors jeopardize health and integration. 

• High turnover: Skilled workers are quitting. 

• A sense of not belonging, and a perception that recruited care workers are less deserving of protection. 

.... for the healthcare system

• The quality and sustainability of care provision suffer. 

You can find more about DeZIM’s expertise in nursing and care here.

Good work requires structures that enable participation: 

• Recognizing qualifications fairly and transparently, 

• making language and integration programs accessible, 

• creating living-wage working conditions, 

• protecting against discrimination in the workplace, 

• and taking into account caregiving responsibilities, family life, and diverse life circumstances.