In Germany, the steady decline of low-skilled work has often been taken for granted. Nonetheless, survey data from the Institute for Employment Research (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, IAB [1]) show otherwise. In the spring of 2007, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (Friedrich Ebert Stiftung [2]) organised a conference on the employment situation of persons working in low-skilled jobs (Perspektiven der Erwerbsarbeit: Einfache Arbeit in Deutschland (603Kb PDF) [3], Berlin, 2007). This article summarises the findings of the conference contributions given by Lutz Bellmann of IAB and Claudia Weinkopf of the Work and Qualification Institute (Institut Arbeit und Qualifikation, IAQ [4]) of the University of Duisburg-Essen.[1] http://www.iab.de/[2] http://www.fes.de/[3] http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/asfo/04591.pdf[4] http://www.iaq.uni-due.de/
In the spring of 2007, a conference organised by the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation addressed the issue of employment in low-skilled jobs. Research findings indicate that both the decline of these jobs and of low-skilled workers has come to an end. While labour market policies expect low-skilled workers to take up ‘simple’ jobs, these workers increasingly face competition by workers overqualified for this type of job.
In Germany, the steady decline of low-skilled work has often been taken for granted. Nonetheless, survey data from the Institute for Employment Research (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, IAB) show otherwise. In the spring of 2007, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (Friedrich Ebert Stiftung) organised a conference on the employment situation of persons working in low-skilled jobs (Perspektiven der Erwerbsarbeit: Einfache Arbeit in Deutschland (603Kb PDF), Berlin, 2007). This article summarises the findings of the conference contributions given by Lutz Bellmann of IAB and Claudia Weinkopf of the Work and Qualification Institute (Institut Arbeit und Qualifikation, IAQ) of the University of Duisburg-Essen.
Stagnation instead of decline
As Lutz Bellmann notes, what is meant by low-skilled work might lead to misunderstandings as the qualification profile of the job is often confused with the qualifications of the job-holder. The IAB Establishment Panel (Betriebspanel) covers both low-skilled workers and formally qualified employees and civil servants working in jobs where formal qualifications are not needed. The IAB Establishment Panel is carried out annually in a representative sample of about 16,000 German establishments covering all economic sectors; the questionnaire-based survey involves face-to-face interviews with company management. Mr Bellmann’s findings are based on IAB Establishment Panel data covering the period 2001–2005.
His contribution, entitled ‘Low-skilled work in Germany – a remaining post or a relevant employment sector’, reveals that neither a trend of decline emerges nor a significant marginalisation of low-skilled work. When comparing the employment rate of people working in basic jobs with that of qualified blue-collar and white-collar workers, as well as civil servants and trainees, it remained relatively stable between 2001 and 2005. At the same time, the employment rate of qualified blue-collar workers declined, while that of qualified white-collar workers, civil servants and trainees increased. However, a slight decline in the proportion of low-skilled workers emerged, dropping from about 20% in 2001 to 18.4% in 2005; the rate of overqualified workers in low-skilled occupations remained at about 5%–5.5% over the period 2001–2005. Persons working in low-skilled jobs, representing 23.9% of all employees, outnumber qualified blue-collar workers, corresponding to 21.0% of all employed persons. The proportion is relatively large when compared with the share of qualified white-collar workers and civil servants which amounted to 50.5% of all employed persons in 2005 (Table 1).
| Workers | Low-skilled workers | White-collar workers and civil servants in low-skilled jobs | Skilled blue-collar workers | Professionals, and white-collar workers and civil servants | Trainees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of all employed persons | 18.4 | 5.5 | 21.0 | 50.5 | 5.1 |
Source: Bellmann, L. and Stegmaier, J., ‘Einfache Arbeit in Deutschland. Restgröße oder relevanter Beschäftigungsbereich?’, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Berlin, 2007, p. 17.
Sectoral distribution
The sectoral distribution of low-skilled work is very unbalanced. The proportion of low-skilled work is lowest in sectors such as the mining and energy industry (7.1%) and financial services (8%) (see Table 2). Most basic jobs are to be found in the processing industries (33.1%), consumer goods manufacturing (33.4%), agriculture and forestry (32.1%) and undefined services (32.8%). In general, the proportion of such jobs is increasing in the services sectors.
| Sector | Low- skilled and retrained workers | White-collar workers and civil servants working in low-skilled jobs | Skilled blue-collar workers | Professionals | Apprentice | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture and forestry | 30.2 | 1.9 | 41.5 | 18.3 | 8.1 | 100 |
| Mining, energy and water supply | 5.8 | 1.3 | 40.7 | 47.5 | 4.8 | 100 |
| Manufacturing of consumer goods | 29.6 | 3.8 | 31.3 | 30.2 | 5.0 | 100 |
| Manufacturing of petroleum, chemical and related products | 31.1 | 2.0 | 31.1 | 32.2 | 3.5 | 100 |
| Manufacturing of metal, machinery and related products | 20.0 | 2.0 | 37.7 | 35.5 | 4.8 | 100 |
| Construction | 11.6 | 2.5 | 56.5 | 21.6 | 7.7 | 100 |
| Wholesale and retail trade | 16.8 | 8.3 | 18.7 | 50.0 | 6.2 | 100 |
| Transport and communications | 27.1 | 4.9 | 30.5 | 34.8 | 2.8 | 100 |
| Financial intermediation | 3.8 | 4.2 | 0.5 | 86.6 | 4.9 | 100 |
| Company-related services | 21.1 | 5.4 | 10.8 | 59.6 | 3.1 | 100 |
| Health and social work | 10.8 | 8.2 | 5.6 | 69.9 | 5.5 | 100 |
| Other services | 24.3 | 8.5 | 12.9 | 46.3 | 8.0 | 100 |
| Other community and social services activities | 12.3 | 10.5 | 6.3 | 67.9 | 3.0 | 100 |
| Public administration and compulsory social security | 8.2 | 4.1 | 10.0 | 74.2 | 3.6 | 100 |
| Total | 18.4 | 5.5 | 21.0 | 50.0 | 5.1 |
Source: Bellmann, L. and Stegmaier, J., 2007, S. 17.
In 2005, the IAB Establishment Panel survey included questions on recruitment in low-skilled jobs in several sectors of the economy. Sectors, such as other services, agriculture and forestry, company-related services, community and social services activities, consumer goods manufacturing, and transport and communications offered most employment opportunities in new low-skilled jobs. Large companies employing more than 1,000 workers showed the smallest demand for low-skilled workers, while most of such job offers were in companies employing 50 to 250 workers. Workers overqualified for this type of job were most often employed by small companies with up to 10 workers (8.0%), followed by companies with between 10 and 49 employees (6.2%) and only occasionally by large companies.
Increasing competition between low-skilled and overqualified workers
The contribution by Claudia Weinkopf entitled, ‘Not that simple ?! Perspectives of training, work organisation and wages’, provides additional quantitative and qualitative information on employment trends in low-skilled jobs. This information stems from the research projects on staffing of low-skilled jobs (in German) and women in low-skilled work.
According to labour market statistics, the number of low-skilled workers as a proportion of all employees fell by 45.3% in Germany over the period 1980–2002. It should be noted that most of the decline in low-skilled work occurred in the years before 1995 and that since 1999 this trend has stagnated.
More specifically, the share of low-skilled employees working in unskilled or low-skilled jobs declined from 75.6% in 1980 to 54.5% in 2002, while at the same time the proportion of qualified workers in such jobs increased from 24.4% in 1980 to 45.5% . In light of this, Ms Weinkopf points out that, by now, low-skilled workers are losing ground to overqualified workers in terms of accessing low-skilled or unskilled employment. This phenomenon is due to an increasingly fragmented work organisation and to labour market policies which promote part-time work. As a result, low-skilled workers have to compete with qualified white-collar workers, women returning to work and students looking for a job.
The demands of employers in relation to the hard and soft skills of potential recruits have significantly increased, according to Ms Weinkopf’s qualitative research findings. Today, employers include in their recruitment processes criteria such as health and fitness, personal appearance, qualifications, German language skills and work experience.
In conclusion, Ms Weinkopf emphasises that labour market policies have to consider the quality of low-skilled jobs and the special training needs of low-skilled workers.
Birgit Beese, Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI)
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2008), Employment trends in low-skilled jobs, article.
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