There is a shortage of skilled labour in almost one in seven occupations in Germany, according to Germany's Federal Employment Agency.
According to an analysis published on Tuesday, there were problems filling vacancies in 183 of the 1,200 occupations assessed last year.
The figure represents a slight decline from the previous year, but that is not seen as a long-term trend, the head of the agency, Andrea Nahles, said. "Due to demographic trends, many well-qualified and experienced skilled workers will continue to leave the labour market in the coming years," she added.
According to the analysis, half of the job vacancies in 2023 involved what it called "bottleneck occupations." Unemployed people, on the other hand, very often did not have the skills necessary to fill those vacancies.
The analysis found bottlenecks in a wide range of sectors, including nursing and other healthcare professions, skilled trades, road transport, childcare and education, as well as catering.
In the technical professions, the IT sector and construction planning were particularly affected. Compared to the previous year, the situation had eased somewhat in construction and aerospace engineering.
