27% of Germany’s workforce have a migrant background, 2025 microcensus shows
The 2025 microcensus finds migrants are a large share of staff in health, hospitality, construction and other shortage sectors.
Official figures published today by the Federal Statistical Office show that people with a migrant background made up 27 percent of all employed people in Germany.
The Federal Statistical Office’s 2025 microcensus highlights that workers with migrant roots are essential across several parts of the German economy, notably health care, hospitality and construction. Under the Federal Statistical Office's definition, a person has a migrant background if they or their parents migrated to Germany after 1950.
Concentrations by occupation
In a number of jobs and sectors the majority of employees now have a migrant background: 56 percent of cooks, 55 percent in food production, 54 percent in floor-laying trades, and 51 percent in both scaffolding work and meat processing.
The share of workers with migrant roots is also substantially above the national average in occupations facing acute labour shortages. Professional drivers account for 41 percent, hotel services 40 percent, and elder care and nursing 33 percent. The lowest share among shortage sectors is in emergency services, at seven percent.
The microcensus is an annual representative sample survey that interviews roughly one percent of Germany’s population.
Photo: press material from the event
