Half of German companies feeling labour shortage – report

The number of German companies that face difficulties in recruiting workers to fill vacant positions continues to grow, according to a study.

Forty-nine per cent of firms said they ran into problems finding new employees in a report for 2019 published on Wednesday by the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), up from 47 per cent in 2018.

Particularly affected is the construction industry, which has a slowing effect on the expansion of digital infrastructure, according to DIHK.

The electronic engineering sector also faces growing problems, with many firms encountering difficulty securing candidates with good qualifications.

More than half of companies are now interested in hiring workers from outside the European Union (EU), DIHK said. The government wants to make it easier for skilled foreign workers to come to Germany.

So far, close to 40,000 workers had come from outside the EU, according DIHK head Achim Dercks, who expects this number to rise to “well into the six-figure range.”

Source: dpa