German businesses are struggling to fill vacancies amid a growing labor shortage, with an estimated two million unfilled positions across the country, an employers’ group said on Thursday.
Achim Dercks, president of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), said at a press conference that the vacancies “result in a loss of 100 billion euros ($108 billion) in potential value creation”.
The researchers interviewed 22,000 German companies for the report, finding that half of them had difficulty finding workers – “record figures”.
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‘Skilled workers’ are particularly sought after
Germany has for years faced labor shortages in various sectors including industry, hospitality, health and construction, mainly due to an aging population, but the situation has worsened in recent years due to the Covid pandemic.
“Skilled workers” are particularly sought after, while 58 percent of companies in the industrial sector report labor shortages.
Two-thirds of companies in two sectors that are emblematic of Germany’s economic strength, machine tools (67 percent) and the automobile industry (65 percent), also report problems finding staff.
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DIHK is demanding changes in labor laws to fix these problems, including easier recruitment of foreign workers, reduced bureaucracy, more participation of parents in the labor market and a better work-life balance to attract and retain employees .
Germany’s energy crisis
“The energy crisis and supply chain problems are not the only risk factors for deindustrialization for Germany. The recruitment problem is also (a factor),” said Dercks.
The DIHK called for “facilitating labor-based immigration” for non-Europeans, especially Ukrainians, who have recently arrived in Germany.
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The German government, which in September estimated a skilled labor shortage of about 240,000, has drawn up plans to overhaul its visa policy to attract foreign workers.
In November, Germany’s governing coalition agreed to pursue a points-based system inspired by the model in Canada.
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