The industry most affected by the shortage of skilled workers in Germany is the healthcare sector. In 2023/2024, on average around 47,400 positions could not be filled with suitably qualified workers. This is indicated by research conducted by the Competence Center for the Protection of Specialists (KOFA) operating at the Institute of German Economics (IW).
The study shows that the biggest shortages are for physical therapists, with almost 11,600 vacancies, dental assistants, with 7,350, and medical and nursing staff, with 7,100 vacancies.
Increased demand for health services
According to the study's authors, demographic changes will exacerbate this problem in the future. “An aging society will lead to… increasing demand for health care services. This increases the burden on the available skilled workforce.” This is particularly the case if a large number of vacancies in the healthcare sector remain unfilled. The same also applies to specialists in elderly care, the authors write. Just as the lack of offers for elderly care also the lack of childcare facilities indirectly contributes to the shortage of specialists in other professions.
The limited provision of social care services often has to be covered privately, forcing parents and carers to reduce their time work during the week.
Bad situation in housing construction
According to the study, the second largest gap in the area of qualifications concerns preparatory work for square construction, building installations and other finishing works. About 42,000 jobs are unfilled here. Particularly many, 10,338, concern building electrical engineering and sanitary, heating and air-conditioning technology (8,720). The third largest gap in the labor market are roofers (2,705).
The authors emphasize that all three professions are of key importance for housing construction, and in particular for energy-efficient renovation of buildings. Bottlenecks therefore also contribute to the slowdown in housing construction. “More than 372,000 would need to be built each year to meet demand new ones apartments, which is approximately 78,000 more than are currently being built.
In the sectors: “public administration, defense; social security” there is a shortage of approximately 41,250 specialists, which is the third largest gap in the labor market. Public administration, social work and social pedagogy, as well as child care and upbringing are particularly affected. Retail (29,800) and social services (28,000), excluding nursing homes, were fourth and fifth in the ranking.
Minimal drop
The skills gap has narrowed slightly recently. In the period from July 2023 to June 2024, there was an average shortage of approximately 532,000 suitably qualified job seekers. It was almost 13 percent less than a year earlier. According to the study, however, the shortage of skilled labor remains “very high”. The average number of job vacancies in 2023/2024 (between July 2023 and June 2024) was just under 1.3 million, 4.2 percent less than the same period last year. (ARD/jar)
The article comes from the website Deutsche Welle