Germany: There are only 900,000 job vacancies for 2.9 million unemployed
In Germany it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a job. There are only 900,000 job vacancies for 2.9 million unemployed. The VDMA accuses the federal government of making it more difficult to hire new staff. A professional group is particularly hard hit by this development.
Difficult times for young professionals and the unemployed: The number of job vacancies in Germany fell by half a million in the second quarter. As reported by the Nuremberg Institute for Labor Market and Vocational Research (IAB), it fell by 36 percent to 893,000. Because unemployment increased at the same time, there was only one vacancy for every three unemployed. The corona pandemic exacerbated the decline that had already started in the economic downturn. Compared to the first quarter of 2020, the number of vacancies in the second quarter decreased by 191,000.
6.7 million people on short-time work
The biggest slump was in industry: companies cut the number of vacancies by more than half compared to the previous year from 151,000 to 66,000. According to the IAB, the number of vacancies for business-related services - including temporary employment - declined from 367,000 to 209,000, and for other services - including the hospitality industry - from 367,000 to 261,000. In contrast, the number of vacancies in public administration and social security increased slightly from 24,000 to 27,000.
For the Association of German Mechanical and Plant Engineering (VDMA); the development is an alarm signal. The federal government should now make it easier to hire new staff, but "rather does the opposite, as the interventions in work contracts and temporary work show," the association emphasized. Instead of restricting fixed-term contracts, it should extend the maximum period for unfounded fixed-term contracts to three years.
Temporary agency work should be suspended for a maximum of 18 months. "Both regulations, which were designed to protect employees, turn against the interests of employees in economically volatile times. They also help to increase unemployment," said VDMA labor market expert Fabian Seus.
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