Overview
- The Statistisches Bundesamt's 2025 Mikrozensus, published Thursday, found about 2.2 million people on fixed-term contracts, equal to 6.0% of core workers and down from 7.0% in 2015.
- Young adults face the heaviest burden with 18.3% of 15–25 year-olds on fixed-term contracts compared with 6.0% of all core workers.
- More than half of fixed-term contracts last less than one year and only 2.7% of those employed on time-limited contracts said they chose that form voluntarily.
- The governing coalition is reported to plan a temporary change allowing sachgrundlose (no-reason) fixed-term hires for up to 48 months for employees taken on through the end of 2030, a proposal the main unions and social associations oppose while some labour researchers say it would raise employer flexibility.
- Short, common-time contracts are concentrated in education and hospitality, limit workers' ability to plan housing and family life, and could shift hiring patterns if the proposed law expands no-reason time-limited hiring.