Job market for students

07.03.2023

Around 64 percent of students in 2021 had a job alongside their studies. That is around 1.9 million people. Many choose a part-time job to earn money while studying, but also to gain insights into professional practice. However, there are not only opportunities for students, but also for companies when they hire student employees.

Students have economic power

The financial scope that students can gain through their part-time jobs can be described as economic power. The research of the study series Fachkraft 2030 (Maastricht University, case & Studitemps) has shown that more than 10 billion euros per year in personnel costs are turned over in the student job market. Part-time jobs are the most important source of financial income for students alongside BAföG or parental support. From an economic point of view, considerable parts of students' income from employment flow back 1-to-1 into consumption and thus into the market. This is a sum in the billions.
Many people do not realise that students also have considerable economic power. This is because the monthly budget of students is usually rather small. In reality, however, it is mainly the food and entertainment industry, the real estate industry and the telecommunications industry that profit from the financial power of students.

How much do students earn?

If you compare the student wages of the last few years, you will notice a significant jump in salary. Compared to 2012, when the average hourly wage was 8.88 euros per hour, the average hourly wage of students in 2021 was 34 per cent higher, at 11.89 euros per hour. On average, students want to work 12 hours per week. The most important thing here is flexibility. The weekly working hours should be compatible with studies so that academic performance does not suffer.

Relevant for their future job

Part-time jobs that are related to studies are popular, because they bring valuable work experience as well as money. 47 percent of students who work regularly have a part-time job related to their studies. Another 37 percent said they would like to work in a subject-related field, but have not yet found a suitable job.

Advantages for companies

Jobs close to the subject have great advantages not only for students, but also for the companies that hire them.

Employers should seize the opportunity to lay the foundation for a lasting relationship. With the right guidance, they can familiarise young people with the company's processes from the start without investing a lot of money. For interns, this is an ideal opportunity to gain practical experience in their desired profession. This not only saves both sides lengthy application procedures, but also ensures that employers have direct access to qualified candidates once they have completed their studies.

Student employees can often provide new input and contribute to optimisation with a fresh view of processes. They bring extensive knowledge from their studies and new ideas for solving problems. Their different approaches to tasks make them valuable team members who can inspire and challenge other employees in the company. Experienced employees benefit from new approaches.

In summary, the investment in students today goes far beyond what happens during their work-study contract; in many cases it leads to regular employment for several years. It is therefore an investment in future growth and stability. Both parties benefit from this experience and as the research results show, most students are willing to do subject-related work.

case has built an extensive talent network where companies can find young talents and filter them according to individual requirements. case was founded to objectively compare university degrees and make application processes fairer and more transparent. For this purpose, an algorithm was developed that compares the final grades of different degree programmes and universities and enriches them with insights from intelligence and personality tests.

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