Germany is recruiting skilled workers internationally despite rising unemployment and a slowing economy. New figures show that hundreds of thousands of positions cannot be filled with suitably qualified applicants. The shortage is smaller than previously reported, but Germany's ageing population could make the problem considerably worse over the next decade.

Germany faces an unusual economic contradiction. Although its industrial economy has struggled and the number of unemployed people has increased, companies still cannot find the workers they need in hundreds of occupations.
The latest research by the German Economic Institute (IW) shows that 369,516 skilled positions could not be filled with suitably qualified unemployed workers on average during 2025. That is considerably below the frequently quoted figure of more than 500,000, which better reflects earlier estimates rather than the latest full-year results.

In 2024, the estimated skilled-worker gap was approximately 487,000 positions. It subsequently declined by 24.1%, largely because weaker economic activity reduced companies' demand for employees.
But the decline has not eliminated Germany's structural problem. Last year, businesses had an estimated 1.11 million vacancies for qualified workers on average, while 1.25 million appropriately classified unemployed jobseekers were registered.

The apparent contradiction is explained by mismatched qualifications, occupations and geographical locations. A manufacturing worker losing a job in one region cannot necessarily replace a nurse, electrician or heating engineer needed elsewhere.
According to the Federal Employment Agency, 157 occupational categories still suffered from skilled-worker shortages in 2025, compared with 163 in 2024 and 183 in 2023.

Germany launches an international search for workers
The German government is increasingly turning to countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
In March 2026, Germany launched the WE-Fair Alliance, an initiative involving development cooperation and businesses to encourage fair international recruitment and worker training.

Deutsche Welle reported that German electricity-infrastructure company Omexom Hochspannung, which employs around 500 people, is seeking to recruit workers from Vietnam because it cannot find sufficient qualified personnel for its power-line construction projects.
The government is also working with overseas partners to develop training programmes before workers arrive in Germany.
One example is Tamil Nadu in southern India, where prospective nurses receive German-language training with financial support from the regional government.
German hospitals and recruitment agencies subsequently help qualified candidates find positions in Germany.

A clinic featured by Deutsche Welle reported paying recruitment agencies between €7,000 and €12,000 per successfully recruited nurse from India and Sri Lanka.
The recruitment strategy is becoming increasingly important because Germany's own workforce is ageing rapidly. More than 20% of employees are at least 55 years old and are expected to reach retirement age within the next decade.

Germany could need hundreds of thousands of immigrants annually
The Institute for Employment Research (IAB) estimates that Germany needs roughly 300,000 additional skilled workers from abroad annually to maintain its existing workforce under relevant demographic assumptions.
Other demographic scenarios cited in Deutsche Welle place the required annual inflow of foreign skilled workers around 400,000.
These are projections based on different assumptions, not actual annual recruitment results. They reflect the challenge created by the retirement of Germany's post-war baby-boom generation.

International recruitment is already making a measurable difference.
The proportion of foreign workers in shortage occupations has doubled since 2014, rising from approximately 7% to 14%.
In the care sector, the number of German-nationality employees declined by 5,000 between June 2024 and the following year, while the number of foreign-nationality workers increased by 46,000.
Germany issued approximately 214,000 work visas in 2025, according to its official Make it in Germany recruitment portal.
However, visas issued, workers recruited and net additional workers are different statistical measures. Not all visa holders remain permanently or enter shortage occupations.

How long does it take to recruit a skilled worker?
Germany's shortage is particularly visible in skilled trades.
Federal Employment Agency figures show that in 2025, vacancies in skilled trades remained unfilled for an average of 242 days, compared with 167 days across all occupations.

That is approximately eight months for a skilled-trades vacancy, versus five and a half months across the labour market.
Electricians, heating and air-conditioning technicians, construction specialists and mechatronics workers are particularly difficult to recruit.
Some 576,000 foreign nationals were employed in Germany's skilled trades in 2025, representing around 17% of the sector's workforce.

How does Germany compare with France, Italy and Scandinavia?
Germany is not alone. European countries increasingly face a combination of ageing populations, shortages in particular occupations and weak recruitment in other sectors.
Eurostat annual figures for 2025. Vacancy rates measure vacant posts as a share of occupied and vacant posts. French and Italian data have restricted coverage, so comparisons require caution.

France also faces considerable recruitment difficulties. France Travail reported 2.43 million planned recruitments in 2025, of which 50.1% were considered difficult to fill. For 2026, recruitment intentions declined to 2.28 million and the proportion considered difficult fell to 43.8%.
Italy has taken a different approach. Its government authorised a quota of 497,550 work entries for non-EU nationals during 2026–2028, including 164,850 in 2026. The programme includes seasonal and non-seasonal employment.
In Britain, which is no longer covered by EU labour-market rules, approximately 734,000 vacancies were recorded during October–December 2025, a decline of 8.6% from a year earlier.

In Scandinavia, the picture differs between countries. Denmark's 2025 vacancy rate was 2.4%, Sweden's 1.9% and Finland's 1.3%. Norway, outside the EU, recorded approximately 2.3% in the final quarter of 2025.
The comparison shows that Germany has a relatively high vacancy rate, but also that the shortage of particular skills is a Europe-wide challenge. Different vacancy rates cannot by themselves establish the number of qualified workers missing in each country.

The biggest problem may be keeping foreign workers in Germany
Germany's difficulties do not end when an overseas candidate accepts a job.
A Deutsche Welle investigation published in July examined why migrants who initially chose Germany subsequently left the country.
Researchers identified bureaucracy, housing shortages, difficulties learning German, discrimination and family circumstances as important factors.

According to the research cited by DW, approximately 60% of surveyed emigrants returned to their countries of origin, while 40% moved to another country.
Germany plans to simplify recruitment through a new federal Work-and-Stay Agency, intended to coordinate immigration procedures and digital applications.
The EU is also developing a Talent Pool platform, scheduled to become operational in 2027, to connect employers with qualified candidates from outside the European Union. Participation will be voluntary for member states.

Germany's demographic challenge is only beginning
Germany's Federal Statistical Office projects that by 2035, approximately one-quarter of the population will be aged 67 or older, compared with one-fifth in 2024.
The population of retirement age is expected to increase by at least 3.8 million by 2038.

Even under a scenario involving annual net migration of 350,000 people, the working-age population could decline by 3.2 million by 2035.
These demographic changes will increase pressure on employers, pension financing and healthcare services.
Germany's international recruitment strategy is therefore not simply a response to today's vacancies. It is an attempt to prepare for a structural reduction in the domestic workforce.

Can foreign recruitment solve Germany's labour shortage?
Germany has already demonstrated that international recruitment can partially offset declining domestic labour supply.
Its employment-based migration programme has expanded considerably: the number of foreign employees holding relevant residence or settlement permits increased from slightly more than 200,000 in 2020 to approximately 420,000 in June 2025.

Nevertheless, recruiting abroad cannot replace investment in domestic training, apprenticeships, productivity and technology.
The country must also compete with other European economies for workers from India, Vietnam, the Philippines, Africa and elsewhere.
For prospective migrants, Germany offers employment opportunities and access to Europe's largest economy. But complex recognition procedures, housing costs and long administrative delays can reduce that attraction.

The central issue is therefore not merely how many people Germany can recruit internationally.
It is whether Germany can offer sufficiently attractive conditions for those workers to build lasting careers—and whether its businesses can become more productive as the domestic population ages.