Germany Will Face an Increasing Worker Shortage: These Professionals Are Most Needed

Germany lacks educators, social workers, caregivers, and salespeople, as well as many other profiles of qualified workers. The situation will quickly worsen, warns the German Economic Institute (IW) in a new study.

IW estimates that the deficit will increase, and by 2028 the number of unfilled jobs will rise to around 768,000, up from 487,000 last year, reports dpa.

"The main reason is demographic change. Many people will retire in the coming years," said the study's author Jurek Tideman.

The departure of the largest generation, the so-called baby boomers, increases pressure on employees in many professions.

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"If we fail to mitigate the shortage, more and more people will feel it in their daily lives," Tideman said.

For example, when there are no places available in kindergartens or care homes, employees cannot extend working hours to accept them, as they also have to care for their own families.

The assessment of the labor market situation for 1,300 professions is based on an analysis of data from 2023 and trends from previous years.

The biggest shortage is expected among salespeople, and the number of open, unfilled positions could rise from 12,900 to 40,470. Too few young people choose vocational schools in commerce, Tideman noted.

In second place are educators, with an expected shortage of about 30,800, followed by social workers and pedagogues, with over 21,150 positions. In three years, there will be a shortage of about 21,350 healthcare workers.

The authors expect the largest growth in employment among educators, about 143,400 by 2028. However, this will not be enough to meet demand.

A significant increase of about 26 percent is also expected in IT professions, mainly due to digitalization.

The largest decline in the number of skilled workers, IW predicts, will be in the metal industry, by almost 161,200 by 2028. According to the forecast, the number of bank clerks will drop by about 56,300, as banks close counters and automate.