In Germany, 56% of cooks have a migration background — The Local Germany

In Germany, workers with a migration background make up a significant share of those employed in occupations facing staff shortages: among cooks, their share reached 56% in 2025. This is according to preliminary microcensus data from the Federal Statistical Office Destatis, The Local Germany reports.

According to Destatis' definition, people with a migration background are those who themselves immigrated to Germany after 1950, or whose both parents immigrated to the country after that year. In the economy as a whole, such workers accounted for 27% of all employed people, but their share was higher in a number of occupations classified as shortage occupations by Germany's Federal Employment Agency.

Restaurants, manufacturing and transport

In addition to cooks, workers with a migration background accounted for 55% of those employed in food production, 54% in floor laying, and 51% each in scaffolding installation and meat processing. Among bus and tram drivers, as well as food service workers, their share was 47% in each case.

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In plastics and rubber production, the share of such workers reached 44%; among professional freight drivers, it was 41%, and in hotel services, 40%. People with a migration background also made up 32% of dental assistants and 29% of those employed in electrical installation work in construction. In care and nursing professions, their share was about one-third.

The lowest share is in emergency services

The share of workers with a migration background among shortage occupations was lowest in emergency services, at 7%. In meat product sales, it was 13%, and in agriculture, 15%. Such workers were also less represented in the police, at 8%, public and judicial administration, at 9%, and among teachers, at about 10%.

The employment rate among immigrants varies depending on their region of origin and length of residence in Germany. Among arrivals from EU countries aged 25 to 59 who had lived in the country for less than five years, 89% of men and 73% of women were employed in 2025. Among immigrants from Middle Eastern countries with the same length of residence, 57% of men and 28% of women were employed. After 20–25 years of residence, the figures for this group were 87% and 79%, respectively.