DON’T MISS
IamExpat FairIamExpat Job BoardIamExpat Webinars
Newsletters
EXPAT INFO
CAREER
HOUSING
EDUCATION
LIFESTYLE
EXPAT SERVICES
NEWS & ARTICLES
Home
Career
German news & articles
3,5 million people in Germany now work multiple jobs
Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy

3,5 million people in Germany now work multiple jobs

Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy
or
follow us for regular updates:



Related Stories

Hitzefrei: How hot is too hot to go to work or school in Germany?Hitzefrei: How hot is too hot to go to work or school in Germany?
Jobs in Germany for Americans: An expat guideJobs in Germany for Americans: An expat guide
Kurzarbeit: What workers in Germany need to knowKurzarbeit: What workers in Germany need to know
Germany's new Skilled Immigration Act explainedGermany's new Skilled Immigration Act explained
Where does an hour of work cost the most in the EU?Where does an hour of work cost the most in the EU?
April 2025: 8 changes affecting expats in GermanyApril 2025: 8 changes affecting expats in Germany
1,3 million people working beyond retirement age in Germany1,3 million people working beyond retirement age in Germany
Sharp increase in number of people taking mental health sick days in GermanySharp increase in number of people taking mental health sick days in Germany
For expats of all colours, shapes and sizes

Explore
Expat infoCareerHousingEducationLifestyleExpat servicesNews & articles
About us
IamExpat MediaAdvertisePost a jobContact usImpressumSitemapRSS feeds
More IamExpat
IamExpat Job BoardIamExpat HousingIamExpat FairWebinarsNewsletters
Privacy
Terms of usePrivacy policyCookiesAvoiding scams

Never miss a thing!Sign up for expat events, news & offers, delivered once a week.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy


© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
Jan 22, 2020
Abi Carter

Editor in chief at IamExpat Media

Abi studied German and History at the University of Manchester and has since lived in Berlin, Hamburg and Utrecht, working since 2017 as a writer, editor and content marketeer. Although she's happily taken on some German and Dutch quirks, she keeps a stash of Yorkshire Tea on hand, because nowhere does a brew quite like home.Read more

“Multi-jobbing” is on the rise: more than 3,5 million people in Germany now work more than one job. More than half of them say they are compelled to do so by financial difficulties. 

Rate of “multi-jobbing” has increased by 4 percent since 2018

The number of people in Germany who work several jobs at the same time has grown by nearly four percent in the space of a year, according to new figures released by the Federal Employment Agency (BA), in response to a request by Die Linke. 

At the end of 2019, 3.538.000 so-called “multi-jobbers” were registered with the BA. That’s 123.600 more than in June 2018 - an increase of 3,62 percent. 

50 percent work multiple jobs due to financial difficulties

According to the report, nearly three million people had a “mini-job” (defined as a job which fetches a salary of fewer than 450 euros per month) on the side of a full-time job subject to social security. 

Another 345.400 people simultaneously worked two jobs subject to social security contributions. The third-most common variant of multi-jobbing was the combination of two or more mini-jobs. Almost 260.700 people reported doing this. 

According to a study by the Hans-Böckler Foundation, 53 percent of people working multiple jobs in Germany do so because of financial difficulties. 24 percent also said that they could not find a job with full-time hours and therefore were forced to take on extra work. 

Call to raise the minimum wage in Germany

In response to the figures, the left-wing MP Sabine Zimmerman called for the minimum wage to be increased, initially to 12 euros per hour, to counteract the trend. The minimum wage in Germany is currently 9,35 euros per hour. “For more and more workers, the income from one job isn’t enough,” she said.

She also advocated for the abolition of systematic low-wage employment in the form of temporary agency work and unreasonable fixed-term employment contracts.

By Abi Carter