The Regional Distribution of Low-skilled Workers in Germany

There is a particular concentration in the Ruhr Valley, where the Emscher-Lippe regional planning area reaches a share of 26.8 per cent. In contrast, the proportion of low-skilled workers in eastern Germany is very low. Both these urban-rural and east-west divides are primarily due to differences in the extent of immigration. Only around half of low-skilled workers aged between 25 and 64 were born in Germany. In the Ruhr, a high level of low-skilled immigration coincides with a large proportion of the population who have failed in the German school system. This is not a homogeneous group, however, particularly with regard to their prospects on the labour market and the support they need. Those who lack not only a vocational qualification but also a school-leaving certificate are particularly vulnerable and their regional distribution varies even more starkly. At 4.3 per cent, their share of 25- to 64-year-olds is more than three times higher in large cities than in small municipalities (1.4 per cent).