IAB study reveals non-linear employment biographies in Germany

A new study by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) challenges the misconception that employment biographies were more stable in the past. Analyzing administrative labor market data from 1992 to 2023, researchers Dana Müller and Philipp vom Berge found that career paths are rarely linear across all studied birth cohorts.

In the middle phase of employment (ages 35 to 49), fewer than 40 percent of employees subject to social security contributions had only one employer. On average, employees in this phase have had approximately 2.67 different employers, a figure that has remained relatively stable over the decades.

The study notes that job changes are most frequent during the early employment phase (ages 25 to 34). The late employment phase (ages 50 to 60) is the most stable, showing the highest employment rates and the fewest employer changes. Notably, the employment share in this late phase has increased by 13 percentage points across all cohorts. The research also indicates that employment patterns vary significantly based on gender and region, with men in West Germany showing the highest employment rates across all phases.