Skilled labor shortage: guesswork about baby boomer pensions and Generation Z!

Skilled labor shortage: guesswork about baby boomer pensions and Generation Z!

Today, October 4th, 2025, an exciting and relevant economic forum took place in the Bad Dürkheim district hall. Organized by Sparkasse Rhein-Haardt and the district administration, everything revolved around the upcoming transition of the baby boomer generation into retirement and the resulting challenges for the job market. The focus of the discussion was particularly on the needs of Generation Z, who were born between 1995 and 2010.

Representatives from politics and business came together to develop strategies on how to master this change. The prevailing question was: How do we manage to fill the gap that will be created by the retirement of around 19.5 million employees of the baby boomers born between 1954 and 1969 by 2036? An analysis of daily news shows that there will be a significant loss of skilled workers for just 12.5 million younger employees who will move up in the coming years.

Consequences for the labor market

The demographic development is already reflected in the numbers: by the end of 2022, around three million baby boomers had reached retirement age, and a further wave of 16.5 million employees will follow by 2036. These developments not only represent a significant cut in the labor supply, but also raise questions about loss of wealth and distribution conflicts, as the IW Institute explains.

Holger Schäfer, a researcher at the IW, emphasizes that only through targeted measures such as increasing the workforce through immigration or better use of existing resources can part of the destruction of jobs be averted. Another point that was discussed in Bad Dürkheim is the need for incentives to keep employees in working life beyond retirement age.

Monitoring of skilled workers as a solution approach

An important step towards securing skilled workers is skilled worker monitoring, which is carried out by BMAS is carried out. This medium-term forecast analyzes the flows of supply and demand on the labor market between 2024 and 2028. Increasing demands due to demographic change and the challenges of digitalization, climate change and geopolitical situations are taken into account.

The monitoring aims to make greater use of unused potential among certain groups such as women, older workers and people with a migrant background. The challenges that arise here are diverse: discrepancy between vacancies and the number of new arrivals from abroad, low working hours compared to the number of skilled workers required and high dropout rates in educational institutions, especially among foreign young people.

The labor market is currently preparing for a change that is already being felt. Forecasts show that the decline in the number of employed people cannot be compensated for quickly enough by immigration or a higher propensity to work. These trends must also be taken into account when considering Generation Z so that their integration into the labor market can be successful.

Overall, the economic forum in Bad Dürkheim impressively shows how important it is to set the course for the future now. The challenges are great, as are the opportunities. A good hand in developing the necessary strategies and measures could prove beneficial for both companies and society.