Industrial crisis in Germany: 10,000 jobs disappeared every month!

Industrial crisis in Germany: 10,000 jobs disappeared every month!

The situation on the German labor market is becoming increasingly alarming. Many companies in Germany are struggling with massive challenges and are refusing to accept employment. Loud fr.de Over 10,000 jobs are lost every month. Not good news for the economy, which already contracted last year. And gross domestic product stagnation of just 0.4% is forecast for 2025, as data from the IAB shows.

Economist Enzo Weber sees the cause as a lack of willingness for industrial transformation. Companies are busy adapting to their situation and many fear an exodus from Germany, especially in the energy-intensive industry, where 94% of companies are struggling with migration tendencies.

Skilled labor shortage as a central problem

Another pressing issue is the shortage of skilled workers. There is currently a shortage of almost 400,000 qualified workers nationwide, and the forecasts for 2027 indicate a deficit of 700,000. Things look even bleaker in certain sectors: A Prognos study warns of a possible shortage of 2.9 million skilled workers by 2025. The bottlenecks primarily affect care, crafts, technical professions and IT, while there is an oversupply in administrative professions and retail.

How can this shortage of skilled workers be overcome? Companies and politicians are called upon to tap the potential of women, older employees and foreign skilled workers. Employees in structurally weak sectors should also focus on personal further training and retraining, as IT knowledge and digital skills are currently particularly popular.

The future of the labor market

Developments on the labor market are becoming increasingly differentiated. The unemployment rate is estimated at 5.7% in West Germany and 7.6% in East Germany. On the one hand, there are flexible workers who are willing to continue training and have better opportunities, while on the other hand, older workers and low-skilled workers are stuck in difficult situations.

Uncertainty also dominates in certain service sectors, where companies are hesitant to hire new employees and are increasingly imposing temporary contracts. Weber's analysis shows that only 2% of industry workers work in companies founded in the last five years. This also indicates a stagnating willingness to innovate.

New paths for the industry

In order to master the challenges ahead, support for founders with innovative technologies and the promotion of start-ups and smaller companies should be intensified. Weber calls for a rethink: “We have to renew our industrial base in order to become leaders again,” said the economist.

The 2025 labor market will therefore continue to be characterized by many uncertainties - a clear strategy to combat stagnation, alleviate the skills shortage and promote new business ideas will be essential. With foresight and targeted investments, the German economy could succeed in overcoming these difficult times and steer back into calmer waters work-abc.de determines.