Red alert: Germany's shortage of skilled workers threatens to strangle the economy!

Red alert: Germany's shortage of skilled workers threatens to strangle the economy!

The German economy is facing a serious demographic problem: more and more baby boomers are retiring, while there is a shortage of essential workers to compensate for this loss. According to a report by the Frankfurter Rundschau By 2024, around half of German companies were unable to successfully fill their training positions. This is an alarming signal, as a loss of around seven million workers is predicted by 2035. Vanessa Ahuja, head of the Federal Employment Agency, warns of “drastic consequences” for the economy and society if this trend continues.

The possible consequences are manifold: companies could cancel their investments or move abroad, and social security funds run the risk of losing important contributors. Against this background, Ahuja sees immigration as a key solution, complemented by the activation of existing workers and advances in productivity. In order to compensate for the loss of 1.3 million people who are currently leaving Germany, 1.7 million immigrants will be needed in 2025.

Shortage of skilled workers and integration

Migration has supported Germany economically in the past and could continue to play a crucial role in the future. Loud Deutschlandfunk The proportion of foreign employees in Germany is now 6.7 million in jobs subject to social security contributions. These people contribute 13.2% of gross value added and are important for various industries, such as the cleaning industry, where more than one in three employees has a foreign passport, and in construction, where almost one in three is of foreign origin. Even in the medical profession, around 14% of practicing doctors do not have German citizenship.

However, the challenges should not be underestimated: Germany could lose up to seven million workers and skilled workers by 2035, according to former Labor Minister Hubertus Heil. This situation makes immigration more necessary than ever to combat the shortage of skilled workers. The situation also worsens when you consider that around 570,000 jobs remained open in 2023 because there were not enough suitably qualified unemployed people.

Hurdles and opportunities of immigration

Although many migrants have been coming to Germany to work for years, there are numerous hurdles. Long waiting times for visas, slow bureaucracy and discrimination pose serious problems. A survey also shows that 73% of companies see the AfD as a risk to securing skilled workers and that, compared to other countries, there is a lack of incentives such as tax advantages for newly immigrated skilled workers. According to the forecasts, Germany would have to recruit between 300,000 and 400,000 people annually in order to keep the workforce stable.

In the coalition agreement, the Merz government has set itself the goal of creating an immigration-friendly country, with qualifications being promoted and access to social systems being reduced. The need for highly skilled migrants is striking as over 35% of immigrants in 2020 were low skilled. In order to increase the potential rate to 1.1 percent by 2029, an immigration of 1.5 million workers would be necessary.

In summary, it is clear: the German economy urgently needs forward-looking approaches to address the impending shortage of skilled workers. Migration could be a central key to overcoming this challenge, but at the same time the identified hurdles must also be consistently addressed.