As Russkaya Germaniya writes, almost every tenth resident of Germany is a recipient of one or another type of social benefit: according to the Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt), at the end of 2015 there were almost 8 million people in the country forced to resort to financial assistance from the state. In 2014, Germany had 7.4 million benefit recipients – 9.1 percent of the population.
The minimum social security, through which the German state guarantees a subsistence minimum to its citizens and persons without German citizenship legally residing in Germany, includes social assistance, the Hartz IV social benefit, basic security in old age (Grundsicherung im Alter), payments to asylum seekers and war victims.
In 2015, a massive influx of benefit recipients, as calculated by statisticians of the Federal Office, was recorded due to an increase in the latter: instead of 363,000 refugees receiving social assistance in Germany in 2014, their number almost tripled – to 975,000 people.
The most dependent on state social assistance are in Berlin (19.4% of the population), Bremen (18.5%) and Hamburg (13.9%). The smallest number of social benefit recipients is in Bavaria (5.2% of the population), Baden-Württemberg (6%) and Rhineland-Palatinate (7.8%).
The difference in the number of social benefit recipients between the old and new federal states remains large, although it has somewhat decreased. In western Germany (excluding the territory of former West Berlin), 8.9% of the population depend on state assistance, in the east – 13%. Compared to the previous year, the number of western "social recipients" increased by 0.7%, eastern – by 0.2%.
Furthermore, over the past ten years, the number of people employed in two jobs has increased by one million in Germany – this is data from the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit). In 2004, statisticians counted 1.4 million residents in Germany who had a second job. In 2015, there were already about 2.5 million workers in the country who, in addition to their main job, were employed "on a mini-job basis" – that is, working a few hours a week for a minimum wage that does not exceed 450 euros per month, with limited insurance and social contributions.
According to a number of politicians, correcting this situation is only possible through a substantial increase in the minimum wage. The minimum hourly wage introduced by the ruling coalition is currently 8.50 euros, and next year it will rise to 8.84 euros per hour. To be able to live on one salary, one needs to earn at least ten euros per hour.
From the point of view of the Employment Agency representatives, the increased employment is caused not only by an urgent need for money: there are enough reasons why people take on a second job. Additional part-time work is often associated with a reduction in working hours at the main workplace. In such a case, it becomes more profitable for the worker to work two jobs simultaneously, paying less tax on the main job due to reduced working hours and avoiding tax deductions on income from the "mini-job." The same applies to those initially employed part-time – mostly women working 20-30 hours a week and taking on extra work – for example, in the service sector – on weekends.
According to the agency, in Germany 7,381,055 people are "mini-jobbers," and for 2,478,857 people the part-time job is a supplement to their main occupation. The most common type of such low-skilled labor is in the service sector. Thus, 46.9% of employees at German gas stations, 42.4% of cleaners, 33% each of hotel staff and street/market vendors, 26.5% of secretaries, 22.6% of security company employees, 20% of German building managers, and 19.2% of workers at exhibitions and fairs earn no more than 450 euros.