Employment in Germany Hits Record-High While the Country Deals With Labour Shortage

According to Destatis, the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, the number of people engaged in employment was up by 0.5 per cent for those not engaged in seasonal employment and up by 0.9 per cent compared to the corresponding time in 2021, AtoZSerwisPlus.de reports.

Data from Destatis also shows that a total of 45.6 million residents in Germany were involved in employment in September of 2022, with the seasonally adjusted number of persons working decreasing by 4,000 people (0.0 per cent) from the previous months. In addition, these rates had an additional 12,000 workers compared to August and a decrease of 9,000 compared to July.

The source further revealed that the adjusted unemployment rate stood at three per cent this month, which indicates that 1.3 million people were unemployed during September. These numbers improved by 10.2 per cent compared to the corresponding time last year, when 3.3 per cent of the population was unemployed, indicating that 147,000 more people are now employed in Germany.

“Adjusted for seasonal and irregular effects, for instance, due to weather conditions or strike, the number of unemployed stood at 1.31 million, on a par with the level recorded in August 2022. The adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at three per cent in September 2022,” Destatis explains.

These positive rates can be only a drop in the ocean, as Germany is dealing with the labour shortage, which the government plans to tackle by simplifying the process of recruiting foreign workers, mainly in the hospitality industry. These attempts are part of the revision of the immigration policies plan that Germany intends to implement.

The list of workers that are required in the country includes the following:

• Qualified professionals who must have completed vocational training of at least two years of experience and that work in the fields of underground work, maintenance and installation of electric circuits, sanitary, heating and air condition technology, canal and tunnel construction, elderly care and well constructions.
• Specialists, indicating people qualified to the grade of the technician who has a university degree or attainment, are most sought after in fields like underground work, plumbing, sanitary, heating and air conditioning technology, tax counselling, physiotherapy, ergotherapy and speech therapy.
• Experts, including those that have obtained a four-year university degree or similar qualification, are required in fields such as internal medicine, software development, lawyers, anaesthesiology, pharmacists and supervision, management, nursing and emergency medical services.