Official figures released on Wednesday have shown that many sectors of the German economy would face severe staff shortages if there were no workers who were immigrants or the children of immigrants. The figures from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), based on a 2024 microcensus, show that such employees make up just over a quarter (26%) of the workforce in Germany. The highest percentages can be seen among welding and joining technicians (60%) and chefs and food production workers (54%). Elderly care and automotive manufacturing are two other sectors where immigrant workers make up a large proportion of employees, at 32% in each case. However, relatively few immigrants or "immigrant background" workers are employed in the emergency services (8%), justice system (9%) and agriculture (15%), where there are currently workforce shortages. Destatis' definition of "immigrant background" includes people who came to Germany themselves and those whose parents immigrated to the country after 1950. The figures come as conservative parties in particular say they want to introduce ever-stricter migration controls.