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Following a national lockdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, state governments in Germany published lists of "essential" occupations that were considered necessary to maintain basic services such as health care, social care, food production and transport. Against this background, this paper examines working conditions and identifies clusters of similar jobs in these essential occupations. Differences across clusters are highlighted using detailed data on job characteristics, including tasks, educational requirements and working conditions. Two clusters with favourable or average working conditions account for more than three-quarters of jobs in essential occupations. Another two clusters, comprising 20% of jobs in essential occupations, are associated with unfavourable working conditions such as low pay, job insecurity, poor prospects for advancement and low autonomy. These latter clusters exhibit high shares of migrants. Further evidence suggests that this pattern is linked to educational requirements and how recent migrants evaluate job characteristics. It is argued that poor working conditions could affect the resilience of basic services during crises, notably by causing high turnover. Policies towards essential occupations should therefore pay close attention to working conditions, the role of migrant labour and their long-term implications for resilience.