On the situation of the middle class in Germany

In recent years mass dismissals in large firms no longer primarily affected the low-skilled but increasingly also persons with professional training, including university graduates. Also no longer only employees in the producing sector were affected but also those in the service sector. News of these layoffs caused considerable insecurity in wide circles of employees. Entry-level jobs seem to be more difficult to find than in the past, also for the well-qualified. In spite of this, it is still an open question of whether and to what extent the perception of an increased dismissal risk or an increasing career instability corresponds to reality in the middle class. This article examines how evident these converging and diverging trends are among the German middle class.