Sunday, February 6, 2011
As Germany Booms, It Faces a Shortage of Workers
Data was released this past week indicating that the unemployment rate in Germany is the lowest it has been in 18 years. For many countries, such as our own, this would be a great accomplishment but for Germany it is a clear sign of their severe lack of workers. When other Western European countries were opening up their borders to Eastern European workers, Germany as well as Austria enacted strict legislation making it very difficult for immigrants to come and find a job. Thus, these people, coming from countries such as Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic moved elsewhere to find employment. Unfortunately for Germany, they were successful. Now they are settled in their new jobs and homes and it is unlikely that they will leave anytime soon. Industries including manufacturing, telecommunications, and health care are suffering because of this problem. The issue is further compounded by the low birth rate; the average number of children born to each woman is only 1.38. I found this article really interesting after reading and hearing so much lately about unemployment in the US, it was quite shocking to learn about this issue Germany is facing.
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4 comments:
What an irony, who would have guessed that a country can suffer from a low unemployment rate. I think it isn’t going to be easy for Germany to recruit new workers for such industries like manufacturing; wages and salaries are too low and cost of living is quite high. Germany has had shortage of workers in manufacturing industry for a while now, but it is especially noticeable when the economy is booming.
I agree, they could just change the immigrant laws and get workers - however, I see this being a big debate for the country , many people don't like opening up their country to immigrants.
I agree that many people in Germany don't want immigrants in their country, but how else would you increase their labor force if birth rates are low and big portion of the country's labor force will be retiring in the next 15 - 20 years? I don't see any other solution but to open up for immigrants.
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