Minijobs in Germany after the introduction of the minimum wage

What is it about?

This article provides an overview of the current condition of marginal employees in the German labour market. Using data on minijobs collected from both employers and employees, we further compare the results before and after the introduction of the minimum wage. The main focus is on hours worked, hourly wages and the motivation behind offering or accepting mini jobs. Furthermore, we compare the work quality of minijobs as measured by the provi-sion of benefits, e.g., the provision of paid sick leave. The results show a complex picture: On the one hand, there are improvements in terms of wages, benefit provision, and the marginal employees’ job satisfaction. On the other hand, after the introduction of the minimum wage, wages below 8.50 Euros can still be observed, and the steppingstone function of mini jobs has lost importance.

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Why is it important?

Marginal employees make up a large proportion of the German workforce. However, not much is known about their motives, as well as the incentives of firms to hire marginal employees. The article fills this knowledge gap by presenting the results of two representative surveys which were conducted in 2016.