Economy
Crisis and job cuts: Fewer companies complain about a shortage of skilled workers
Tax advisors, bus drivers, service staff: There are no personnel in many companies. The situation has changed with the weak economy. A new study does not give a all -clear.
In the economic crisis, fewer companies in Germany suffer from a shortage of skilled workers. At the beginning of the second quarter, 27.2 percent of the companies complained of restrictions due to the lack of staff, a survey by the State Funding Bank KfW. In the fourth quarter of 2024 it was just under 32 percent, in the summer of 2022 even 49.7 percent. This significantly weakened the shortage of skilled workers, but was “at a historically high level”.
The reason is the weak economy, explained the KfW. “This has led to sales and order declines as well as layoffs or stops in the industry, especially in industry.” In addition, the great uncertainty about the Course of the US government puts on companies. For the KfW study, economic surveys of the IFO Institute are evaluated. For this, around 9,000 companies are interviewed once per quarter, including 7,500 medium -sized companies.
A shortage of skilled workers in industry shrinks
In industry, according to KfW, 17.9 percent less than half as many companies reported on a shortage of skilled workers in the second quarter as the maximum of 44.5 percent in 2022. However, the number of companies concerned is still much higher than in the long -term average from 1991, which was 9.8 percent. While manufacturers of furniture and medicines are hardly affected by a shortage of skilled workers, he put a great impact on producers of metal products (26.5 percent).
The service industry particularly feels the shortage of skilled workers. Almost a third (32.9 percent) of the companies there complained of missing personnel – after 39.1 percent in the fourth quarter. Lawyers and tax advisors (64.6 percent) as well as companies in road and rail transport (over 40 percent) are particularly affected.
No all -clear for German economy
“The shortage of skilled workers is still a growth brake for a considerable part of the companies,” says KfW bosswirt Dirk Schumacher. The latest decline is just a snapshot. The shortage of skilled workers will worsen in the coming years, provided that the economy has recovered. It is urgently needed to counteract – for example via more employment participation, qualified immigration and more productivity.
dpa
Source: Stern
