Labor Market In Germany Research Articles

Part-Time Paradox: The Rise of Female Part-Time Employment and Its Impacts on Germany's Labor Market

Despite an employment rate of 76.6% for women in Germany, significant issues persist with regard to the labour market situation of women in the country. These include the prevalence of part-time work, the under-representation of women in senior management positions and the existence of pay gaps. This article employs data from the German Statistical Office spanning the period from 2000 to 2022 to examine the growth in part-time employment among women and its ramifications. The paper demonstrates that part-time work is a prevalent phenomenon in female-dominated sectors such as health and education. This is driven by a combination of economic conditions, the necessity to reconcile work and family life, and legal regulations. This situation consequently results in women facing lower remuneration and constrained career prospects. The necessity to balance work and family responsibilities represents a significant challenge for women, impeding their career development and negatively impacting their job performance and workplace commitment. These dynamics serve to perpetuate gender inequalities in the labour market, thereby preventing women from realising their full potential at work. This article makes a significant contribution to the existing literature on the relationship between part-time work and gender inequalities in the German labour market by providing a detailed analysis of this complex relationship. The article offers valuable insights into the potential of legal regulations, such as the Temporary Part-Time Work Act enacted in 2019, to alleviate the adverse effects of part-time work on women. The research is distinctive in its comprehensive examination of the socio-economic dynamics of part-time work, its legal framework, and its impact on gender equality, based on an extensive data analysis conducted over an extended period. By offering a detailed and nuanced understanding of these issues, the study draws attention to the ongoing challenges women face in the labour market and suggests potential policy interventions to promote gender equality. This article emphasises the necessity for targeted measures to facilitate women's career progression and offset the adverse consequences of part-time employment, thereby contributing to a more equitable labour market.

All good things come in threes – required skill sets in the graduate labour market in Germany

PurposeOur work adds to the debate regarding higher education graduates’ skills required in the labour market in Germany and beyond.Design/methodology/approachUsing Q-methodology and the accompanying narrations, we explore German employers’ and employees’ views (N = 26) on characteristics required at the entry level.FindingsOur findings show three areas of the labour market with different skill requirements. Whereas the first area, “The world of rules”, applies more likely to the professions and academia, the two other areas, “The middle field” and “The people-oriented and critical market”, can be found throughout the labour market. The disciplinary affiliation does not play a role. In all three areas, soft skills are crucial and specialised knowledge is only highly valued in the area of “The world of rules”.Originality/valueIn contrast to previous findings, we do not focus on singular skills. Instead, we focus on skill sets and discuss their relevance from the background of their usability.

Reasons for the Successful German Economy: Analysis of Imports and Exports, Labor and Social Welfare

Germanys robust economy, labor market reforms, expansive social welfare initiatives, and the structure of its educational system collectively contribute to its status as an influential and appealing nation on the global stage. The paper analyzes the reasons for the booming German economy from three aspects: imports and exports, labor, and social welfare. The nation has witnessed substantial export growth, particularly compared to its European counterparts. This economic achievement can be attributed to elements like practicing wage restraint and capitalizing on the opportunities presented by Chinas market liberalization, resulting in a significant upswing in exports to China. The labor market in Germany has witnessed substantial enhancements since 2005, marked by the creation of jobs and a remarkable reduction in the unemployment rate. These transformations can be linked to labor market reforms initiated in the early 2000s, commonly called the Hartz reforms. Germany boasts an extensive social welfare system with historical roots dating back to the 19th century. This system encompasses various life facets, including healthcare, pension provisions, accident coverage, nursing care, and unemployment support. The adaptability of this welfare system is underscored as it remains open to ongoing negotiations and adjustments, particularly in response to demographic shifts.

Aid solutions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in selected European Union countries in 20202021

Introduction: The article presents selected aid solutions introduced in 20202021 in several European Union (EU) countries (Italy, Spain, Germany) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative economic effects. Government assistance has often been temporary, but some labour market and social security changes are systemic.Objective: Presentation of aid solutions in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic in EU countries, an overview of the short-term aid measures and system changes. Materials and methods: Review of government websites and legislation regulating the state of the COVID-19 pandemic and assistance solutions during this period.Results: The conclusions indicate that aid solutions aimed at supporting the labour market in Germany and Spain effectively mitigate the economic difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the implementation of anti-crisis programs is a particular challenge for public administration.

Ključni čimbenici iseljavanja iz Hrvatske i ostanka u iseljeništvu prema percepciji iseljenika

Ključni čimbenici iseljavanja iz Hrvatske i ostanka u iseljeništvu prema percepciji iseljenika

A Grounded Theory Study on Motivational Development After Detours in Young Adulthood – How Extra-Vocational Training Affects Aspirations

Context: In the present study, we explore what motivates young adults to re-engage with education or employment after a period of non-engagement. Insights into this process facilitate the implementation of tailored support measures for at-risk groups. It is well-known that young people who are not involved in any kind of education, employment, or training face further risks to their professional and psychological development. Methods: Using a grounded theory approach, interviews with young adults from various educational tracks were analyzed, compared, and contrasted. The sample was focused mainly on apprentices in extra-vocational training and professionals working with young people to describe the process of re-engaging in detail (n = 30). Findings: Our analyses suggested that frustrating prior experiences and offers to participate in government-funded vocational training prompted motivation to learn an occupational skillset. Undergoing an apprenticeship enabled young adults to develop the motivation to finish vocational training and to plan on further education.Conclusion: The implications of these results as they pertain to Germany's labor market policies, which foster a sense of individual responsibility to facilitate the achievement of professional success, are discussed. Furthermore, the implications for supporting further educational aspirations when working with young adults are discussed.

Coming of Age: Migrant Economies and Social Policies in Germany

This paper analyzes the policies for migrant economies as part of broader social and labor market in Germany. It points out that the current fragmented and contradictory policy action can be identified as an outcome of former ambiguities and the delegation of responsibilities within a complex governance grid. Accordingly, its focus is on the inter-related dynamics of policy interventions, knowledge production and the impact of migrant agency within cities. The paper gives a condensed overview on theory and background of migrant economies, pointing to de facto barriers that persist until today. It then concentrates on the way labor market policies in respect of migration were framed in public discourse. Its empirical focus is on the web of policies and instruments that have been directed towards migrant entrepreneurship. Here, in-built ambiguities of all actions are identified as a general feature of German labor market policies.

Crossing Social Boundaries in an Immigration Context: Exogamy and Gendered Employment Patterns in Unions in Germany

We study gendered employment patterns in unions by focusing on the role of exogamy for non-migrants in Germany. Classical assimilation theory has studied such mixed migrant-non-migrant unions mainly with a focus on the members of ethnic minorities. However, this perspective neglects the question of the social consequences of exogamy for the members of the majority group. We aim to fill this knowledge gap by investigating the association of being in a mixed union and the employment patterns of the couple. Our theoretical considerations and working hypotheses are derived from modernization theories, welfare state and labor market theories, gender studies, and social boundary-crossing frameworks. Drawing on the scientific use file of the German Microcensus of 2013, our sample consists of 44,499 non-migrant men (about 7% of whom are in a mixed union with a migrant) and 43,722 non-migrant women (about 5% of whom are in a mixed union). We estimate multinomial logistic regression models. We conclude that the persistent disadvantage for immigrants on the labor market in Germany shapes the gendered employment patterns of their unions, which, in turn, affect the members of the majority population. For non-migrant men, exogamy is associated with a re-traditionalization of employment patterns, whereby a man is more likely to be the main earner if he is in an exogamous union than if he is in an endogamous union. For non-migrant women, by contrast, we find evidence of a role reversal in exogamous unions, whereby the woman is more likely to be the main earner.

Improving Formal Qualifications or Firm Linkages-What Supports Successful School-to-Work Transitions among Low-Achieving School Leavers in Germany?

Abstract:Many countries have implemented youth (un)employment programmes for low-achieving young people to improve their employment prospects. In Germany, these youths are often channelled into prevocational programmes to prevent them from long-term ‘scars’ by providing a ‘second chance’ to enter apprenticeships (serving as entry into the labour market in Germany). However, the usefulness of these programmes is contested. It remains unclear whether it is (more) useful for young people to invest in education and improve formal qualifications (to send a positive ‘signal’) or to spend more time in firms (e.g. to counteract possible discrimination processes or to generate new network ties). It is also unclear who benefits most depending on previous school-leaving certificates. We address these questions by using rich data from the German National Educational Panel Study and apply entropy balancing as a matching approach to control for selection. We find that both attaining a higher school certificate and spending time in firms improve low-achieving youth’s chances to enter apprenticeships. However, only those who attained a higher-level school certificate are able to enter higher-status training occupations afterwards. Moreover, prevocational programmes are most beneficial for the most disadvantaged.

Do children influence their mothers' decisions? Early child development and maternal employment entries after birth.

This study investigates whether early child development influences mothers' decisions regarding when to return to the labor market in Germany. Previous research has examined how institutional, individual and household factors affect maternal work interruption durations after childbirth. This study extends the literature by focusing on the impact of children on mothers' return-to-work behavior after childbirth and by examining mechanisms that might explain this impact. The study builds on data from NEPS Starting Cohort 1, the first large-scale newborn panel study in Germany, which provides measures on four different aspects of early child development, sensorimotor skills, habituation, regulatory capacity and negative affectivity, as well as information on mothers' labor market behavior and household settings. The analytical sample consists of 2,548 mothers with valid child information and contains data from the first four panel waves of the study until the child is 3 years old. The results from discrete-time event history models indicate a differentiated pattern of effects of child development indicators: higher sensorimotor skills and lower regulatory capacity are weakly associated with earlier maternal employment, while habituation and negative affectivity are unrelated to mothers' work behavior. Effects are the strongest among mothers returning to part-time work and among those with a medium level of education.

Wer braucht Versorgungsforscher/innen? Eine Bestandsaufnahme zum Berufsbild anhand von Stellenanzeigen

IntroductionHealth services research is an interdisciplinary field mainly defined by its topic rather than a distinct set of theories and methods. However, a specific demand for health services researchers can be observed. Yet, only few findings on the occupational profile are available, mainly indirectly drawn from educational programs within the field. Our aim was to assess the occupational profile “health services researcher” from the perspective of the labor market in Germany. MethodsA 6-month systematic search for job offers containing the term “health services research” was performed. Afterwards, job offers were excluded that focused on assistance (e. g. no academic degree required) and/or did not contain health services research content. Then all job offers, excepting professorships, were excluded that primarily required another professional degree (e. g. a medical degree). Combining induction and deduction, a coding table was developed containing the following main codes: a) employer type, b) job focus, c) labor relations, d) job profile, e) qualifications required, and f) relation to health services research. ResultsOf the 137 job offers identified, 113 remained after applying the exclusion criteria. More than 50 % (n=62) of the employers are universities (n=49) or universities of applied sciences (n=13), followed by corporations (n=37), public services and related sectors (n=12), and hospitals (n=2). The main activities listed were: a) science and research (60.2 %), b) representation of interest (30.6 %), c) data management (3.7 %) and d) healthcare management (1.9 %). Interest or experience in health services research was mandatory in 62.6 % of the job offers, competencies in quantitative and qualitative research methods in 45.8 % and 18.8 %, respectively. DiscussionNone of the job offers examined was exclusively directed towards health services researchers. However, specific qualifications related to health services research were sought by employers, mostly in research projects. The main qualifications demanded were research methods skills and knowledge of the German healthcare system. ConclusionHealth services research is a term which is used in job offers on the German labor market and is associated with multiple academic disciplines. At the same time, an institutionalization process can be observed, most prominently within the advertised professorships. This may lead to a consolidation of career paths in the future. The results of this study might inform educational programs in the field of health services research and may be of interest to graduates looking for employment.

Refugees’ Labor Market Integration in the Context of a Polarized Public Discourse

The public discourse on the integration of refugees into the German society and the labor market in Germany in particular is polarized. How does the transition of refugees to work can be made possible and how does it currently take place? There is little evidence, how refugees can be successfully placed on the labor market. Exemplary qualitative case studies are presented that address processes and mechanisms which facilitate or hinder effective transitions. In a tense social and political climate, the interplay between employment integration, recognition options, and the social participation of refugees as essential factors of sustainability should be considered.

The labor market in Germany, 2000–2018

The EU's largest economy, Germany, has managed to find an effective and unique combination of flexibility and rigidity in its labor market. Institutions that typically characterize rigid labor markets are effectively balanced by flexibility instruments. Important developments since 2000 include steadily decreasing unemployment rates (since 2005), increasing participation rates, and (since 2011) moderately increasing labor compensation. The German labor market was remarkably robust to the impacts of the Great Recession, thus providing a useful case study for other developed countries.

Outcomes of unemployment episodes during early career for mismatched workers in the United Kingdom and Germany and the mediating effects of education and institutions

Our research challenges the traditional view that unemployment is an unequivocal negative event in working life. We argue that depending on workers’ educational attainment and on national-specific institutional settings unemployment might have different implications on young workers who begin their employment careers in low occupational positions. The strongly skill-based and rigid labour market in Germany increases the likelihood of a better initial position but might hinder occupational mobility via unemployment. In contrast, in the more flexible labour market of the United Kingdom, an unemployment phase might indeed be a conventional means by which workers improve their occupational positions. We use longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) and the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) to estimate chances of re-employment and changes in occupational status after unemployment. Our results show that workers with tertiary education, employed in jobs for which they are overeducated, significantly improve their occupational positions after unemployment in the United Kingdom and Germany. The same applies to workers with secondary education in the United Kingdom, but not in Germany.

Persistent Disadvantages or New Opportunities? The Role of Agency and Structural Constraints for Low-Achieving Adolescents’ School-to-Work Transitions

School leavers with low educational attainment face great difficulties in their school-to-work transitions. They are, however, quite heterogeneous in terms of their personal and social resources. These within-group differences may influence who shows initiative during the school-to-work transition period and thereby helps employers recognize their learning potential at labor market entry. Yet this recognition also depends on the ways employers select applicants, which may prevent them from discovering such within-group differences. We therefore investigate the interplay between agency and its constraints, that is, whether higher cognitive and noncognitive skills and more parental resources provide low-achieving school leavers with new opportunities in the school-to-work transition period or whether their low school attainment causes the persistency of their disadvantages. We use panel data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), which started in grade 9. The NEPS also includes school leavers from special-needs schools. Our sample consists of 3417 low-achieving adolescents (42% female), defined as adolescents who leave school with no or only a lower secondary school-leaving certificate. Their average school-leaving age is 16 to 17 years. Our key findings are that the transition period opens up new opportunities only for those low-achieving adolescents with better vocational orientation and higher career aspirations, leading them to make stronger application efforts. The success of youth's initiative varies considerably by school-leaving certificate and school type but not by competences, noncognitive characteristics, and parental background. Thus, the label of "having low qualifications" is a major obstacle in this transition period-especially for the least educated subgroup. Their poor school attainment strongly disadvantages them when accessing the required training to become economically independent and hence in their general transition to adulthood. Our results are also of interest internationally, because participation in firm-based training programs functions as the entry labor market in Germany. Thus, similar explanations may apply to low-achieving adolescents' difficulties in finding a job.

The male-female earnings gap for nurses in Germany: A pooled cross-sectional study of the years 2006 and 2012

BackgroundNursing is one of the largest occupations for women in every country. Evidence suggests a substantial male-female pay gap for registered nurses in the U.S., possibly contributing to disparities between genders more broadly. Differences in motivation and skills between men and women have long been considered important factors in the gender earnings gap, but these factors are difficult to measure. Because of country specific educational pathways and limited upward job mobility in Germany, nurses tend to be more homogenous in their motivation to work and their work skills compared to the U.S. ObjectiveTo study male-female earnings in the nursing labor market in Germany. DesignThis is a pooled cross-sectional study of survey data collected for the years 2006 and 2012. MethodsWe used a representative survey of nurses (n = 828) who are active labor force participants. In a multivariate ordinary least squares regression, the analysis estimated the log of monthly earnings for male and female nurses. The full model accounted for demographic, human capital, and geographic characteristics, in addition to employment characteristics, such as hours worked, additional education obtained, years of nursing experience, years of labor market experience, career inactivity, years with the employer, and responsibilities at work, among other factors. We conducted follow-up analyses to test alternative explanations for the pay gap, examining earnings for nurses who no longer worked in nursing and testing potential differences in motivation with the likelihood of working nightshifts and length of time with current employer. ResultsUnadjusted monthly earnings for full-time male nurses were 30% higher, or 700 Euros more, than monthly earnings for full-time female nurses. In the fully adjusted analysis, male nurses out-earned female nurses by approximately 9.3%, or 260 Euros per month. Follow-up analyses suggested that better outside options exist for male than female nurses in the German labor market, while we found no support for gender differences in motivation.

The labor market in Germany, 2000–2016

The EU’s largest economy, Germany, has managed to find an effective and unique combination of flexibility and rigidity in its labor market. Institutions that typically characterize rigid labor markets are effectively balanced by flexibility instruments. Important developments since 2000 include steadily decreasing unemployment rates (since 2005), increasing participation rates, and (since 2011) moderately increasing labor compensation. The German labor market has also been remarkably robust to the impacts of the Great Recession, thus providing a useful case study for other developed countries.

KONSTRUKSI ARBEIT DALAM SASTRA JERMAN PASCAREUNIFIKASI

Simultaneous post-reunification with the presence of the New Economy era has brought Germany entered a new phase, especially in the economic field (read: Arbeit). The manufacturing sector which previously controlled the labor market in Germany has been shifted by the services sector (Dienstsleistungsbereiche). Utilization of the latest technology and the power of innovation become key to success. This had an impact on the changing structure of work world (Strukturwandel der Arbeitswelt) in Germany. In this era, Arbeit has been transformed into "charm" (Fetisch) in the community. Each individual -even who had higher education qualifications- cannot escape the Arbeit problem. Those who lost Arbeit would feel outcast and marginalized, whereas those who worked would be imprisoned in their work. Reality and the dilemma were captured in the novel Das Jahr der Wunder by Reiner Merkel (2001), wir nicht schlafen Kathrin by Röggla (2004), and Mobbing by Annette Pehnt (2007) as corpus research. Thus, the Arbeit conception that has been considered established in a modern country such as Germany is still questioned. So, how about the actual Arbeit construction that is readable in all three of the novel as a form of intrinsic relationship between literature and their communities in the form of negation, innovation and affirmation.

Institutional conditioning of the German labour market in the face of the global economic crisis 2008–2009

Aim: The scientific objective of this study is an attempt to clarify the institutional aspects of the functioning of the labour market in Germany that are relevant to the response to the global economic crisis of 2008–2009. Motivation: The reaction of German labour market was totally different than during previous recessions and the explanation of the sources of this response constitutes the main motivation to undertake this study. The considerations rely on the thesis that it could be attributed to the institutional infrastructure combined with clever economic policy of the state and responsible behaviour of social partners. The economic theory suggests how an isolated institution functions, but in the real world they works in the whole institutional network. Therefore the broader context and some linkages are mentioned. Results: After a brief review of the main macroeconomic indicators and selected labour market institutions in Germany in comparison to the OECD countries, the labour market reforms undertaken in the period between 2002 and 2007 will be discussed. Then, selected on the basis of literature studies, institutional buffers of the labour market mitigating shocks are examined with particular emphasis on the instruments of internal flexibility, social partners’ behaviour and institutional connections of labour markets with other domains of economic order. The elements of institutional framework are subject to qualitative analysis backed up by available official statistical data.

Beachtlicher Erfolg der Hartz-III-Reform

The Hartz reforms of the labour market constitute an important turning point in the evolution of the labour market in Germany. While the reforms consisted of four parts, it was especially the reform of the unemployment benefit system — the Hartz IV reform — that led to a strong response in the public and the media. Andrey Launov and Klaus Wälde demonstrate that the Hartz III reform of the German public employment agency (the ‘Bundesagentur für Arbeit (BA)’), that took place one year earlier, was much more successful in reducing unemployment. The reorganisation or the BA accounts for around 20% of the reduction of unemployment between 2005 and 2008. By contrast, the Hartz IV reform can account for only 5% of this reduction.