Immigrants starting a new life in Germany earn significantly less than native Germans, according to a new study. Researchers attribute this persistent income gap primarily to unequal access to high-paying jobs — a disparity that appears to persist across generations.
The study, conducted by Germany’s Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Nuremberg and published in the journal Nature, reveals that immigrants living in Germany earn at least 20 percent less than their German-born counterparts.
According to the researchers, immigrants are not necessarily paid unfairly for the same work. However, they are often excluded from higher-paying positions and industries, which leads to this income disparity.
For first-generation immigrants in Germany, the wage gap stands at around 19.6 percent. While immigrants generally receive equal pay for the same roles, about three-quarters of the earnings gap is explained by their underrepresentation in better-paying sectors, limited access to senior positions, and fewer professional opportunities overall.
The study compares Germany’s situation to eight other Western nations: Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. In all these countries, a wage gap exists between immigrants and native-born workers.
However, nations like Sweden and Canada have made notable progress in reducing this gap, particularly among second-generation immigrants, where the income disparity has significantly narrowed.
In contrast, second-generation immigrants in Germany still face an average wage gap of 7.5 percent — higher than the international average of 5.7 percent.