{"id":675592,"date":"2026-07-05T20:54:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T20:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/675592\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T20:54:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T20:54:45","slug":"germanys-labour-market-dilemma-rising-unemployment-despite-vacancies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/675592\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany’s labour market dilemma: rising unemployment despite vacancies"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> A job centre in Berlin. Despite thousands of vacancies, German firms are struggling to find candidates to fill them (Lilas TANTUSSI DEVOS) <\/p>\n

Graduating with a degree in biology in Germany, Julia Unkelbauer thought she had done everything right.\u00a0But applying for job after job since 2024 has so far resulted only in rejections. <\/p>\n

“I would very much like to continue working in research,” the 38-year-old, who lives in the central city of Fulda, told AFP.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

“Unfortunately, that’s a bit difficult because the number of positions is very limited,” she said. <\/p>\n

Unkelbauer, who studied palynology — the study of microscopic biological material found in sediment such as pollen and spores — illustrates a growing labour market mismatch in Germany. <\/p>\n

The number of unemployed in Germany climbed to over three million in January for the first time 2015.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

It has since fallen a bit, to 2.94 million in June, but remains relatively high, according to official data released Tuesday. <\/p>\n

At the same time, 643,000 vacancies are registered with the Federal Employment Agency (FEA), and companies in sectors ranging from healthcare to machine-making complain about skills shortages. <\/p>\n

– Many occupations face shortages – <\/p>\n

The mismatch bodes ill for an economy already in crisis and struggling to innovate. <\/p>\n

Nationwide, employers are struggling to fill around 160 types of jobs, ranging from careworkers to plumbers, according to the FEA.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

These are mostly “jobs that require vocational training, whether through work-and-study programs or practical training at school”, FEA head Andrea Nahles said earlier this year. <\/p>\n

The healthcare and transport sectors are among those under the greatest strain. <\/p>\n

“There is an urgent need for nursing staff, physiotherapy professionals, and bus and truck drivers,” she said. <\/p>\n

But Unkelbauer does not want to leave the profession she chose.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

If she cannot find a position in research, she wants to work “wherever there are opportunities in my field”, she said. <\/p>\n

Leaving her region remains a last resort, as she lives with her husband, a private-sector executive, and their two children in a village. <\/p>\n

– Demographic deficit – <\/p>\n

In Fulda, a city of around 65,000 people around 100 kilometres (60 miles) northeast of Frankfurt, Katharina Henkel, head of the local employment agency, sees this mismatch every day. <\/p>\n

“We have many people looking for work, while employers are looking for staff. But the requirements and qualifications do not always match,” she said. <\/p>\n

“It can take up to 300 days to fill certain positions, particularly in healthcare or transport,” she added. <\/p>\n

And the recruitment difficulties are expected to worsen in Europe’s largest economy as the population ages: over the next 10 years, around 13 million Germans will reach retirement age. <\/p>\n

At the same time, only 7.8 million people are expected to enter the labour market, widening a gap that immigration alone is currently struggling to offset, the FEA says. <\/p>\n

In Frankfurt, Samson, a maker of industrial valves, expects around 450 of its approximately 2,000 German employees to retire within the next seven to eight years. <\/p>\n

“We already have to think about how… we will replace them,” its human resources director Frank Oppenlaender told AFP. <\/p>\n

Samson is struggling to recruit for a new 500 million euro ($570 million) factory it has built in neighbouring Offenbach, he added, while urging authorities to speed up integration of migrants. <\/p>\n

“How quickly can I get immigrants and refugees to the stage where they can obtain a work permit and a residence permit? In Germany, that still takes far too long,” he said. <\/p>\n

“We need people now, not in two years’ time.” <\/p>\n

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