More than 11 million women worked in the past year in a normal employment relationship - an increase of almost three percent compared to the previous year, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Wednesday. The number of atypically employed women dropped by more than three percent to more than five million.
Employees who are employed normally and dependent on permanent employment are those who have a socially insured job with more than 20 hours per week. Atypical employment means all dependent employment relationships that have one or more of the following characteristics:
- Expiration
- Part-time employment with 20 or less hours
- Time work
- Marginal employment.
For men, the change was reportedly not so strong: the number of normal employees rose by one percent to about 15 million, atypical employment in 2018 were more than two million men - a decline of nearly two percent.
According to the statisticians, the reason for the growing number of women in normal employment is a decline in part-time employment of up to 20 hours per week. In addition, fewer and fewer women are slightly employed. At the same time, there are more women working part-time but more than 20 hours a week. Thus they fall from the category of atypical workers.
Overall, the share of atypical workers in the total number of employed persons decreased slightly in 2018, from 20.8 to 20.1 per cent. The proportion of normal employees rose correspondingly from 69.3 percent to 70.3 percent. In 2017, the number of atypical employees had risen slightly.
According to a study by the trade union Hans Böckler Foundation, published in June, there is a higher risk, especially among younger people and foreigners, of working in atypical jobs, which are usually poorly paid.
In later life, they often feel the consequences: according to the VdK, many women, for example, refrain from full-time childcare and instead work in mini or part-time jobs. Later, they receive only a small pension and are particularly often affected by poverty in old age.