WIESBADEN – As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) at a press briefing in Frankfurt/Main today, the share of atypically employed people in Germany has markedly increased since 1998 according to results of the Microcensus: Whereas in 1998 nearly three quarters (72.6%) of the persons in employment were engaged in so-called “normal” employment, the percentage decreased to 66.0% in 2008. In the same period, the share of atypical forms of employment rose from 16.2% to 22.2%. Normal employment refers to employment that is fully subject to social insurance contributions and is performed with at least half of the usual full weekly working hours and on the basis of a permanent contract. A normal employee, in contrast to a temporary agency worker, works direct in the enterprise with which he/she has concluded an employment contract. The term atypical employment is used if at least one of those criteria are not met. Atypical employment in this study includes part-time employment with 20 or less working hours per week, minor employment, fixed-term employment and temporary work, also referred to as hiring out.
According to results of the Structure of Earnings Survey, which was last conducted in 2006, nearly every second atypically employed person (49.2%) received gross hourly wages below the low-wage threshold. The low-wage threshold has been calculated on the basis of criteria applied by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) at an international level. According to those criteria, a person’s hourly wage is considered as a low wage if it amounts to less than two thirds of the median of all gross hourly wages covered. The median is the value that divides all gross hourly wages exactly into two halves. Based on these calculations the low-wage threshold in 2006 was EUR 9.85. In the largest group of atypically employed persons, the part-time employees with 20 or less working hours per week, just below one-fifth (19.5%) received a low wage. Employees with a fixed-term contract had a low-wage risk of 36.0%. The group affected most strongly by low wages in 2006 were persons in marginal employment (81.2%). Employment at temporary work agencies (67.2%) often involved low wages, too. Hence, for all categories of atypically employed persons the low-wage risk was markedly higher than for persons in normal employment. For the latter, the low-wage rate was 11.1%. Among all employees in Germany, the share receiving low-wages was 20.0%.
It should be noted that the results concerning people in employment receiving low wages do not necessarily lead to risk of poverty. Looking at the risk of poverty, social transfer payments and the household composition are relevant and have to be taken into account. Evaluations of the Microcensus 2008 have shown that, according to the EU definition, atypically employed persons nevertheless are much more often at risk of poverty (14.3%) than persons in normal employment (3.2%). Altogether, 6.2% of all persons in employment were at risk of poverty in Germanyin 2008.
The results of the various forms of employment shown here is limited to persons at working age (15 to 64 years) to the extent that they are not undergoing education or training.
Further comprehensive data and information on this topic are available on the Internet.
For further information please call: Katharina Puch, tel. (+49-611) 75-4106,
