Immigrants play key roles in Germany's nursing, hospitality and construction sectors

The Federal Statistical Office, using microcensus data for 2025, reported that a substantial proportion of Germany's workforce has a migration background, defined as the individual or both parents having arrived since 1950. Immigrants are especially prevalent in sectors such as cooking, food production, flooring, scaffold construction and meat processing, where they form the majority of employees. In other tight-labour markets like professional driving, hotel services and health-care, migrants also account for a large share of staff.

Conversely, the smallest share of migrant workers in shortage occupations was found in emergency medical services and, to a lesser extent, agriculture. The microcensus surveys about one percent of the population each year, providing these insights into labour composition.