The employment rates for individuals with medium and high levels of education in Germany have converged over the past decade. According to results published by Destatis (the Federal Statistical Office) in their study “International Education Indicators in Country Comparison,” the employment rate among those aged 25 to 64 with medium qualifications increased from 80% to 83% between 2015 and 2025. Meanwhile, the employment rate for those with high qualifications remained stable at 88% in both 2015 and 2025. This means that the gap in employment rates between medium and high qualification levels has narrowed from eight percentage points to five percentage points over the ten-year period.
At the lower end of the scale, individuals with low educational qualifications showed an even steeper increase in employment rates compared to those with medium qualifications, although they are still at a substantially lower level. Where only 59% of people with low qualifications were employed in 2015, this figure reached 63% a decade later.
When comparing Germany internationally, the country performs well. In 2025, those aged 25 to 64 in Germany with medium qualifications were significantly more likely to be employed (83%) than the OECD average (78%). For those with high qualifications, Germany reached a comparable level to the overall OECD standard (88% versus 87%). Notably, the gap between the employment rates of medium and high qualifiers in the OECD average was approximately 10 percentage points, double the gap observed in Germany. Furthermore, the employment rate for low qualifiers in Germany (63%) was higher than the OECD average (60%).
Examining the differences across German states in 2025 reveals notable variability. The largest disparity was found among individuals with low educational qualifications. In Bavaria, 71% of low-qualified individuals were employed, whereas in Berlin, this figure stood at only 53%. In contrast, the differences were much smaller for those with medium qualifications. Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria recorded the highest employment rates for this group at 86%, while Bremen (78%) and Berlin (79%) reported the lowest.
For those with high qualifications, the rates were tightly clustered across the states in 2025. Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, and Saarland all achieved the highest employment rate at 90%. Bremen (85%) and Berlin (86%) experienced the lowest rates. Statisticians noted that, unlike the lower and medium qualification groups, the employment rates for high-qualified individuals were considerably closer together across all states.
