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Business & Innovation

Attractive Labour Market

Germany's stable employment market offers attract­ive career opportunities to professionals from around the world.
Attraktiver Arbeitsmarkt
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Germany's stable employment market offers attract­ive career opportunities to professionals from around the world. Germany almost achieved full employment in early 2020, with 45 million people in employment. This success is built on Germany’s strong economy, but the employment market has also been supported by tried-and-tested crisis response measures implemented by the government. For example, government intervention to support workers on reduced hours had already proved its worth during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, and made a vital contribution to mitigating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Where a crisis causes a significant loss of work to businesses, the “Kurzarbeit” scheme allows employers to temporarily transfer employees to state-supported reduced hours. This helps avoid redundancies and makes it easier to restart work after the crisis.

As part of creating a modern, fair and transparent employment market, the Federal Government Federal Government The Federal Government and cabinet is made up of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. While the Chancellor holds the power to issue directives, the ministers have departmental powers, meaning that they independently run their respective ministries in the framework of those directives… Read more › has implemented a number of groundbreaking projects in employment policy. The legal minimum wage came into force in 2015 and is updated regularly. A minimum quota for women in leadership positions is boosting equality. Since 2016, all publicly traded businesses that are required to carry out full worker participation have had to ensure women hold a minimum of 30% of seats on their supervisory board. The regulations on pay scale uniformity ensure that employers do not apply different pay scales to the same work.  

Plenty of flexibility for workers

The world of work in Germany is going through a period of change. Digitalisation is making its mark, but another significant change is that many roles no longer need to be carried out from specific locations, along with the opportunity to work from home at least some of the time. The Covid-19 pandemic gave a huge boost to mobile working, with up to a third of employees now working from home at least part of the time. The Federal Government Federal Government The Federal Government and cabinet is made up of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. While the Chancellor holds the power to issue directives, the ministers have departmental powers, meaning that they independently run their respective ministries in the framework of those directives… Read more › is ensuring that their rights and protections are guaranteed, even when working away from the office. Many workers in Germany now have far more influence over how they organise their working time than even a few years ago. In addition to working part time, they can use flexitime to decide for themselves (within certain limits) when their work day begins and ends. Employees also have the right to reduce their working hours for up to six months to allow them to care for relatives

Opportunities for international professionals

There is an important trend in increasing mobility within the Euro Euro The euro is the currency of the European Monetary Union and after the US dollar the second most important member of the international currency system. Together with the nation­al central banks, the European Central Bank (ECB), head­quartered in Frankfurt/Main, is responsible for monetary policy… Read more › ­pean labour market. Freedom of movement is one of the fundamental principles of the EU, so migration within Europe is an important issue for professionals, and Germany is a major destination.

Germany lacks skilled workers. Given the ongoing demographic transition, one of the most pressing challenges facing the Federal Government Federal Government The Federal Government and cabinet is made up of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. While the Chancellor holds the power to issue directives, the ministers have departmental powers, meaning that they independently run their respective ministries in the framework of those directives… Read more › is ensuring there are enough skilled workers for Germany’s economy. According to the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), over half of businesses were not able to fill vacancies in 2021 due to a lack of suitable applicants. This was a particular issue for the care sector and the skilled crafts and trades, as well as engineering and technical careers.

Germany has made long-term preparations to support the migration of skilled workers. An important element in this is the Skilled Immigration Immigration As early as the 19th century Germany attracted a large number of immigrants and since the 1950s has emerged as the European country with the largest immigrant population. In 1950, there were about 500,000 foreigners in Germany, accounting for a mere one percent or so of the population. This has… Read more › Act for qualified professionals, which has been in force since 1 March 2020. The Act makes it easier for skilled workers from countries outside the EU to access the German labour market. Previously, this was only possible for workers with academic qualifications. Since 2020 this access has also been open to workers who have gained a vocational qualification abroad. Given the unique features and high standards of Germany’s dual vocational training system, the Federal Government is using the Skilled Immigration Act to improve opportunities for workers to come to Germany to gain qualifications. It is now possible for people who want to undertake training or an apprenticeship to get a residence permit.