Study: More and more people work part-time
McKinsey Global Institute examined the labor market: Around 21 million Germans are self-employed or supplement their income alongside their studies, job or pension through independent or temporary work. In Germany, the number of people who work independently or on a temporary basis or supplement their income on the side is greater than many statistics would suggest.
Around 21 million Germans, or 30 percent of all people over the age of 15, now work independently. In other words, they are self-employed, employed on a temporary basis or supplement their incomes through independent activities in addition to school, university, their first job or their pension. These are the findings of the "Independent Work" study published by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) in Washington on Monday.
Away from traditional permanent employment
More than one in two young people up to the age of 24 or retirees over the age of 65 is self-employed or employed on a temporary basis, either full-time or part-time. "70 percent of survey participants who are employed outside of traditional permanent employment relationships do so because they value the independence and flexibility it brings," Mischke explains.
However, the remaining 30 percent - around two million full-time and four million part-time employees - are unable to find a suitable permanent position.
Positive impact on economic performance
In view of these figures, the MGI sees the need for policymakers to obtain an even better overview of the actual employment relationships and sources of income of the population. Employees would have to be better protected in individual cases and legal certainty would have to be created for all parties involved. Overall, the MGI sees many opportunities in the trend toward more self-employed or independent work: flexibility and higher labor force participation can have a positive impact on the country's economic performance.
About the study: The research institute of the management consultancy conducted a representative survey of 1,200 people over the age of 15 in Germany on all forms of income generation. In parallel, representative surveys were conducted in France, Sweden, the UK, Spain and the USA. Official statistics usually only record the number of people registered as self-employed or those employed on a temporary basis. According to Eurostat, that is around nine million people in Germany.
