Dr. Walter launched its business survey on current data about au pair placement in Germany and around the world

Great interest in becoming an au pair in Germany, a changing au pair landscape and, for the first time in years, a rising number of au pairs in Germany: these are the most important results of the newly published, representative business study commissioned by Dr. Walter.

Germany becomes an ever more attractive destination for young people from other EU countries. While youth unemployment is reaching record high levels in many countries, Germany seems to offer a much better perspective to young foreigners. An au pair placement is a good and cheap way for many of them to improve their language skills and to get to know the country and its culture.

For the first time since 2009, we saw a rise in numbers of au pairs in Germany compared to the previous year. According to our data, there were 8,378 au pair placements in Germany last year, approx. 300 more than in 2011. Although the number of au pairs from non-EU countries continued to decrease, there was a rise in the number of au pairs from EU countries.

There was also a rising number of German au pairs who went abroad: the most significant increase was caused by au pair agencies that predominantly work online. Young Germans were mostly interested in becoming an au pair in the UK, in France and in Spain. Outside of Europe, the most popular countries included the USA, Australia and New Zealand.

Since au pairs from the EU don’t need visa, they often organize a stay in Germany on their own. Instead of referring to traditional au pair agencies, they frequently make use of so-called matching agencies. These agencies run websites where au pairs and host families can upload their profiles in order to get in contact.

For the first time, this year’s survey not only covered traditional au pair agencies but also matching agencies. "We can no longer ignore this kind of au pair placement", said Reinhard Bellinghausen, Managing Director of Dr. Walter GmbH. "According to our customer data, the market share of matching agencies is continuously growing every year. With this in mind, I think it is high time to have an open discussion about this type of au pair placement that is both successful and regarded by many au pair associations as quite controversial." Our new survey will therefore include an entire chapter about matching agencies.

For this year’s business survey, Dr. Walter GmbH has analyzed the data concerning au pair placement for the sixth time since 2004. More than 30% of all German au pair agencies took part in the survey. The survey includes detailed results and comments. It is furthermore supplemented by comprehensive information about au pair exchange programs, for example in the newly updated leaflet for host families and foreign au pairs published by the Federal Employment Agency.

The business survey 2013 is published by Calypso Verlag. You can order the survey online.

Konjunkturumfrage 2013: Entwicklungen und Trends im deutschen Au-pair-Wesen
(Business survey 2013: Developments and trends in German au pair placement)
Neunkirchen-Seelscheid: Calypso Verlag
Pages: 48; size 30 x 21 cm
9,90 € (Germany)
ISBN 978-3-940291-066