5th german sino conference atypical employment in germany - recent trends and social implications
DESCRIPTION
German employment and labour reformTRANSCRIPT
Berlin, 10.11.2010 Fußzeile 1
“Atypical” employment in Germany:
Recent trends and social implications
Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
Professor for Sociology of Work and Organizations
BLE / Faculty of Business and Economics
5th German-Sino Conference on Public Administration
Berlin, 14-17th Oct. 2010
2Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
Agenda
“Atypical” employment in Germany: Recent trends and social implications
1. The traditional employment model in (Western) Germany
2. Changed economic, social, and political conditions
3. Outcomes: Recent trends of “atypical”employment in Germany
(…and in other European countries)
4. Social implications
5. Conclusions: Political responses?
Berlin, 10.11.2010
Berlin, 10.11.2010 3Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
1. Traditional employment model in
Western Germany
A brief historical review:
1950s-60s: Specific historical conditions favouring labour
� Economic boom period in Western Germany
� Labour shortage � strengthened trade unions
� Welfare state: employment-based social security system
(Bismarckian social insurances)
� � Establishing a certain form of employment with strong
protection & social security as a „standard employment
relationship“:
Berlin, 10.11.2010 4Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
1. Traditional employment model in
Western Germany
The „standard employment relationship“:
� permanent employment (strong dismissal protection),
based on work contract with one employer
� full-time, normally 8 hours/5 days a week
� collectively agreed, living wages: breadwinner for family
� rule of seniority: upward mobility for senior workers
� full social security: full entitlements in public insurances for
old-age, invalidity, unemployment, health care (later: long-
term care)
Berlin, 10.11.2010 5Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
1. Traditional employment model in
Western Germany
This standard employment relationship:
� is a reference model for employment in Germany:
- characteristics seen as “best practice” of labour
- social security entitlements preconditioned to this norm
� empirical reality: only for large majority of male workers
� This form of employment is complemented by a
specific family model: “male breadwinner model”
� clear division of labour: women stay at home and care for
husband and children, husband is breadwinner
� women & children are socially secured by social entitlements
of husband (not in their own right)
Berlin, 10.11.2010 6Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
2. Changing economic, social and political
conditions
Challenges to the standard employment relationship:
Since mid 1970s:
� Economy: Recession, increasing unemployment, weakened
trade unions, firms’ demand for more flexible labour contracts
and lower labour costs
� Society: birth control, expanded higher education, social
movements
� individualisation, increased female labour market
participation
Berlin, 10.11.2010 7Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
2. Changing economic, social and political
conditions
� modernisation of family model: women in part-time
employment
� first “atypical” employment form matches both firms’
demand for flexible, low-payed work and greater female
economic independence
But: standard employment still predominating for men
Berlin, 10.11.2010 8Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
2. Changing economic, social and political
conditions
Since end 1980s, 1990s:
� Economy: more competitive & volatile markets
(globalisation), tertiarisation (new demand for services),
increasing unemployment, firms’ demand for flexible, low-cost
labour
� Politics: collapse of European socialist countries, German
unification, public budget constraints ?
� neoliberal paradigm
� deregulation of labour market: lower dismissal
protection, strong support of flexible employment forms
Since 2000s: Lower social protection against unemployment
Berlin, 10.11.2010 9Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
3. Recent trends of “atypical” employment
Outcomes of economic, social and political changes:
Standard employment relationship is eroding:
� empirically: decreasing shares of labour force,
though still majority of mid-aged men
� but still the reference norm in social security schemes
� raising social problems (section 4.)
Berlin, 10.11.2010 10Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
3. Recent trends of “atypical” employment
Source: Statist. Bundesamt 2008; Microcensus; sum smaller than single value because of multiple
employment in atypical forms; part time only defined as atypical if < 20 hrs.
Berlin, 10.11.2010 11Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
Different Data Base (German Socio-Economic Panel)
that includes part-time >20h:
37% of all employees “atypical“
(+12 percentage points since 1997)
• marginal employment doubled
• temporary agency work tripled
• fixed-term employment +46%
3. Recent trends of “atypical” employment
Berlin, 10.11.2010 12Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
Graph 2: Gender distribution of atypical employment 1997-2007
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007
year
em
plo
ye
es
in %
men: part-time employees < 20hrs
men: marginal employees
men: fixed-term employees
men: temporary work agency employees
women: part-time employees < 20hrs
women: marginal employees
women: fixed-term employees
women: temporary work agency employees
“Atypical work” = still mainly women’s work,
but men are catching up
Source: Statist. Bundesamt 2008; Microcensus; sum smaller than single value because of multiple
employment in atypical forms;
part time only defined as atypical if < 20 hrs.
Berlin, 10.11.2010 13Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
Microcensus Data: 38% women „atypical“, men 14%
GSOEP (incl. all part-time): 57% women, 17% men
� 1997 – 2007: share of men in atypical empl. doubled
� Young, migrant, and low-skilled people are more often
employed “atypically“
� Working hours decrease, esp. for women, more
involuntary part-time (lack of full-time jobs)
“Atypical work” = still mainly women’s work,
but men are catching up
Berlin, 10.11.2010 14Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
Huge increase in low-wage employment
Federal Republic of Germany, 1995 and 2006 in Percent
Shares of low-wage empl.
within category
Changes in
low-wage
employment
Changes total
employment
1995 2006 1995-2006 1995-2006
Full-time 11.0 14.3 +12.6% -13.5%
Part- time 22.2 23.4 +24.5% +18.0%
Marginal emp. 86.0 91.7 +181.2% +163.8%
Total 15.0 22.2 +43.3% -3.1%
Source: Kalina/Weinkopf, IAQ-Report 2008-01; SOEP
6.5 million employees work for low wages, i.e. less than two-thirds of the
median wage: West 9.61 €, Ost 6.81 € (gross wages per hour, in 2006)
Berlin, 10.11.2010 15Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
Low wage employment: mainly female
More than two-thirds of the low-waged employees are
women (69%):
Low-wage shares across gender and working hours, in percent (2004)
Men Women
Full-time 10.8 21.8
Part-time 15.6 21.9
Marginal emp. 87.4 85.5
Total 12.6 29.6
Source: SOEP 2004, Kalina/Weinkopf, IAT-Report 2006-3
Berlin, 10.11.2010 16Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
Low wage sector no "springboard“: 80% of men, 90% women remain low-waged after
6 years of employment
Low upward mobility
Source: IAB-KB 8/2008
Berlin, 10.11.2010 17Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
Trends in self-employment:
Increasing
single-
person self-
employed
(without
employees)
Berlin, 10.11.2010 18Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
Trends in self-employment:
� Mostly single-person self-employed (without
employees) due to different “push”- and “pull”-factors
� More often not lifelong self-employment (transitions out
of and into unemployment or dependent employment)
� Very often rather low incomes (also for highly-skilled)
� No social security coverage!
Berlin, 10.11.2010
Atypical employment rate in Europe
1998 and 2008
19Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
Source: Schmid / Protsch 2009
employees and
single person
self-employed
Berlin, 10.11.2010 20Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
4. Social implications (Germany)
Trend towards erosion of standard employment has
problematic social implications, esp. in German
welfare system:
Certain (not all) “atypical” employment forms entail:
� low wages: no living wages, not even for individuals
� low opportunities for upward mobility and upgrading
skills
� low social security (low or no entitlements to social
insurance)
Berlin, 10.11.2010 21Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
4. Social implications
� affecting certain groups in such precarious jobs:
women, young people (also men), low-skilled,
migrants (from outside EU)
� life-course: more discontinuous employment
careers (periods of unemployment, atypical empl.)
� increasing social inequalities (“insiders / outsiders”)
and poverty risks
� increasing fears of “insiders” (middle class),
due to lowered social protection against
unemployment: threat of downward mobility
Berlin, 10.11.2010 22Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
5. Conclusions: Political response?
Erosion of standard employment challenges the social
security system (that still refers to it as a norm)
� raising poverty � burdening public budgets
� social security system has to be re-designed:
Idea of “flexicurity”
= combine flexible labour market with social security
e.g. include all “atypical” employment forms in social insurance,
or establish better (tax-based) social security scheme,
improve transitions between different forms of employment,
un- or non-employment (transitional labour markets)
Berlin, 10.11.2010 23Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
5. Conclusions: Political response?
“Flexicurity” idea is in the scientific debate for about
10 years,
on level of European Union also discussed as concept,
but not yet realised in most countries
Impediments: political power structures (employers’
power), public budget constraints?
Hope for future? Democratic legitimacy of governments
is eroding, but outcomes questionable?
Berlin, 10.11.2010 24Prof. Dr. Sigrid Betzelt
Thank you for your attention!