Which employers offer the best career opportunities? In search of the answer, Statista and Capital surveyed thousands of employees. These are all 200 award-winning companies
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Many people think the economic situation is bad. And in fact, the current economic data does not bode well: Ifo business climate index? Declining again. Gross domestic product? Stagnant at best. What is striking, however, is that these developments have so far barely affected the labor market; and if they have, then only in individual sectors. Researchers believe that the positive labor market trend is likely to continue. This is due solely to a shortage of skilled workers and demographics. So there is a lot to suggest that things are not quite as bad in Germany as many people perceive.
The labor market barometer of the Nuremberg Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research (IAB) rose by 0.4 points to 100.9 points in August. This is the third consecutive increase in the leading indicator, which is published monthly. This year, more than 73,000 training positions remained unfilled, while at the same time more than 63,000 young people did not find an apprenticeship. In general, an average of 702,648 vacancies were reported in 2024. Although this is less than in the previous year (750,000 vacancies), there can be no talk of a significant drop.
Companies must retain and recruit employees with benefits
This also increases the pressure on companies to create attractive offers for their employees. Germany is increasingly in a labor market in which employers compete for new staff – not the other way around, as was the norm for many decades. For employees, these are excellent prospects. They can and should take a close look at who they hire next. A change can be worthwhile, especially for trained specialists.
It is not just factors such as salary, career opportunities, company growth and sales that count – the question of whether a company shapes the business location is becoming increasingly important: is an employer particularly committed to its region? Does it also assume social responsibility? Is it recommended locally as an attractive employer?
200 companies honored
The statistics portal Statista asked these questions to 9,000 employees who rated employers in their region in a large-scale online survey – not only their own employers, but also other employers in their city. The selection included around 2,500 employers with locations in one of Germany’s 20 major urban regions and with workforce sizes between 250 and 5,000 employees.
The result was a list of the best with a total of 200 awards for outstanding local employers in 20 cities. For the second time, evaluations were not only carried out for individual cities, but also for entire regions – i.e. for northern, southern, eastern and western Germany. In addition, companies with several locations could receive multiple awards if, for example, they have more than 250 employees at one location.
There is more to an attractive employer than just good work. In addition to the satisfaction of their own employees, the indirect perspective – i.e. the external image as an employer – is particularly relevant for companies. The respondents therefore also assessed whether the employers mentioned in the region take on social responsibility towards their own employees and suppliers, whether they are involved in charitable causes in the region and whether they actively shape the business location. But of course the questions also included how good the development and career opportunities are at a company – and whether or not they would be recommended as an employer.
These are the best employers by region
Based on around 480,000 ratings submitted, Capital and Statista have chosen 200 companies as the “most attractive employers in the region in 2024”. The nominees include not only large and well-known corporations, but also two football clubs, a brewery and, for example, several hospitals. Which of the local companies made it onto the list of the best, which regions and cities have a particularly high number of attractive employers and who, compared to the competition, particularly good The following list shows how well the region fared. The most attractive employers in the region are made up of the top 50 companies in the cities in the respective region. These are:
- Northern Germany: Bremen – Hamburg – Hanover – Kiel – Rostock
- East Germany: Berlin – Erfurt – Dresden – Magdeburg – Potsdam
- Southern Germany: Mainz – Munich – Nuremberg – Stuttgart – Saarbrücken
- West Germany: Dortmund – Düsseldorf – Essen – Frankfurt aM – Cologne
The most attractive employers in 2024 – by city
The most attractive employers in 2024 – by region
Source: Stern
