An Analysis of Employability Indicators in Germany: 2014–2025

This chapter analyses employability in Germany between 2014 and 2025 within European Union (EU) employment governance. It defines employability as the capacity to convert qualifications into stable, socially insured, progression-capable work and introduces the Konversionslandschaft (conversion landscape) as the analytical frame. The framework centres on three conversion factors: regional infrastructure, institutional gatekeeping, and legal status in Germany’s two-tier benefit system. Methodologically, the chapter combines harmonised European Union Labour Force Survey (EU LFS) indicators with Federal Employment Agency administrative registers to reconcile cross-country comparability with national steering data. This dual approach identifies a persistent conversion gap between survey unemployment and register unemployment, signalling institutional frictions beyond cyclical variation. Empirically, four patterns structure the analysis. Youth transitions are constrained by certificate sorting, regional mismatch, and uneven retention after training entry. Gender disparities appear mainly in working time, with employment growth concentrated in part-time jobs. Informal and marginal forms of work, including Minijobs and short-time work, stabilise attachment but fragment insured hours. At the same time, skilled-vacancy bottlenecks remain pronounced in sectors such as construction and hospitality. The chapter combines Human Capital Theory, the Capability Approach, resilience perspectives, and segmentation theory to explain why high employment rates coexist with underutilised labour potential. It concludes that conversion-oriented policy should combine modular upskilling, place-sensitive matching, and coordinated tax–care–benefit reform to expand hour-rich, resilient employment pathways.