Figures for 2025: Immigrants indispensable in many occupations
More than a quarter of all employees in Germany have their roots abroad. Especially in professions where skilled workers are desperately being sought, hardly anything would work without them.
In 2025, immigration history is essential in many German industries, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Over a quarter (27 percent) of all dependent workers in the country have roots overseas, the agency reported using data from the Mikrozensus. Certain professions show a disproportionate representation of individuals with immigration history; in 2024, more than half (56 percent) of chefs and waitresses belonged to this group.
In food manufacturing (55 percent), floor laying (54 percent), scaffolding (51 percent), and meat processing (51 percent), the majority of workers also had foreign origins. In care-related professions, the percentage of immigrants was also notably high, significantly above the overall economic average. This also applies to skilled drivers (41 percent), hotel service (40 percent), and nursing/elderly care (33 percent).
The definition of immigration history by the Federal Statistical Office is that a person has roots if they or both their parents immigrated to Germany since 1950. The Mikrozensus is an annual survey, questioning around one percent of the German population. In 2025, the lowest percentage of employees with immigration history in a critical profession was found in the emergency services (7 percent), while it was also under average in agriculture (15 percent).
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Labour market: Immigrants fill gaps in many bottleneck occupations handelsblatt.com
