East Germans and migrants struggle to overcome a significant “opportunity gap” that leaves them with lower wages and a higher risk of being unemployed, according to a new study. Both groups are underrepresented in elite positions and one in three considers themselves a second-class citizen in Germany.

“Opportunity gap” for east Germans and migrants

These conclusions are drawn from a report presented in Berlin this Tuesday by the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). The study was based on a survey commissioned by the German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM) which included 7.233 German-speaking people, aged 14 years and above, in both western and eastern federal states.

Confirming the researchers’ hypothesis - that the working situation in Germany for migrants and east Germans is similar - the survey found that both east Germans and migrants tend to be more greatly represented in the lowest income segment (i.e. those with lower salaries, temporary or mini-job contracts or those receiving unemployment benefits).

While 26,5% of surveyed east Germans and 29,5% of migrants were in this group, the figure for west Germans was only 18,8%. When researchers considered the highest income segment, the situation was reversed: 13,2% of west Germans fit into this category, compared with 8,1% and 8,9% of east Germans and migrants, respectively.

One in three feels like a second-class citizen

These unequal positions are reflected in the way these groups regard themselves: 35,3% of the east Germans surveyed expressed that they feel like second-class citizens in Germany. 33,8% of the migrants also felt this way.

Some confirmation of the discrimination east Germans and migrants face is evident in the negative attitudes expressed by west Germans: 41,2% of those surveyed were of the opinion that east Germans constantly see themselves as victims and 37,4% felt that east Germans do not distance themselves enough from extremism. 43,3% said the same of migrants.