There is a shortage of skilled workers in Germany – if a secure job is important to you, you should look into these ten professional fields.
Not every successful professional qualification guarantees a job. But: According to the Institute of German Economics Cologne (IW Cologne), there is currently a shortage of almost 540,000 skilled workers in Germany. This should make it easier for qualified people to find a job.
For this ranking, the estimates of the IHKs from several federal states on the supply and demand of skilled workers for the year 2023 were used and Germany-wide average values were calculated for various professional fields. The ranking does not claim to be complete in terms of professional categories, but is based on the professional fields mentioned by the IHKs. The ranking is as of June 13, 2023.
Editorial team finanzen.net
11th place: The ranking
The Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHK) of eight German federal states run their own “skilled labor monitors” in which the supply and demand of skilled workers over the past few years as well as forecasts for the coming years are documented. The federal states with a skilled worker monitor are Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Hamburg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony.
For this ranking, the estimates of the IHKs from Germany for the year 2023 were used and Germany-wide average values were calculated for various professional fields. The ranking does not claim to be complete, but is based on the professional fields mentioned by the IHKs. In addition, when looking at the data, it is important to remember that certain sectors are particularly well represented in certain countries, meaning that the numbers can vary greatly in other federal states without a skilled worker monitor. The ranking is as of June 13, 2023.
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10th place: Medical health professions
In the area of medical health professions, the shortage of skilled workers appears to be relatively low in percentage terms, taking into account supply and demand, with a shortage of just 9.1 percent on average – however, in the federal states with a skilled worker monitor alone, an estimated 106,400 positions will remain vacant in 2023.
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9th place: Professions in law and administration
The penultimate place in this ranking is occupied by professions in law and administration: In the federal states that maintain a skilled workers monitor, an estimated 31,000 positions will remain unfilled in 2023, which corresponds to 10.58 percent. Job titles in this field include administrative assistant or notary assistant, but there are also many other areas of activity.
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8th place: Positions in corporate organization and human resources
According to the IHK estimates, with a percentage of 13.09, around 58,300 positions in corporate organization and human resources will remain unfilled in 2023 in the federal states with a skilled worker monitor. These include, among others, the job titles of operations assistant, financial clerk, technical clerk or human resources specialist.
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7th place: engineers
At 13.6 percent, there remain plenty of vacant positions in the engineering sector in the federal states with a skilled worker monitor. This puts this industry in seventh place in the ranking.
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6th place: Office and secretarial jobs
The office and secretarial occupational field made it to sixth place in this ranking: here the percentage of unfilled positions is 13.74 and it is estimated that around 157,600 vacant positions will remain vacant in 2023 in the federal states with a skilled worker monitor. Job titles in this industry include commercial specialist or IT clerk.
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5th place: event management
According to estimates by the IHKs, 14.7 percent of the positions in the event management sector in the federal states with a specialist monitor remain unfilled. It is important here that this industry was not mentioned by all IHKs as an area with a particularly high shortage of skilled workers.
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4th place: Education, social affairs, home economics and theology
Occupations in the areas of education, home economics, social work and theology made it to fourth place in this ranking. In the federal states with a skilled worker monitor, it is estimated that around 134,740 positions will remain unfilled in 2023, which corresponds to a percentage of 15.21.
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3rd place: corporate management
In the federal states with a skilled worker monitor, around 98,600 positions in corporate management will most likely remain vacant in 2023, which corresponds to a percentage of 16.51. The IHKs view this industry relatively openly and also include interpreters and management consultants in this professional group.
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2nd place: Purchasing, sales and trading professions
In second place in the ranking of industries with the greatest shortage of skilled workers is the area of purchasing, sales and trading professions: According to the IHK’s estimate in 2023, there will be a relatively small number of unfilled positions with 41,370 positions, but in percentage terms this is a full 17.25 percent .
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1st place: Technical research, development, construction and production control professions
In the professional field of technical research, development, construction and production tax professions, an estimated 85,280 positions remain vacant in the federal states with the 2023 skilled workers barometer. This corresponds to a full 28.04 percent and is the highest percentage in this ranking. Job titles in this field of work include developer, operations manager and electrical designer.
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