A recent study published by the Bertelsmann Foundation indicated the urgent need for 288,000 skilled workers in Germany each year to maintain growth in its economy. It is glaring how reliant this nation is on foreign labor; it could have caused as much as 10% unemployment in Germany by having the population shrink without more influx of skilled workers. Without the immigration of skilled workers, it would have further shrunk from 46.4 million to 41.9 million by the year 2040.
The transition from the working world involves the most extensive portion of the baby boom generation, and it is expected that by 2040, as many as 368,000 immigrant workers will be needed each year to meet the labor requirement.
Substantive Differences Across Borders
Hamburg or Berlin will be able to cope better than most other cities with shrinking outward flows of labor, thanks to their size and immigrant populations. By contrast, southern regions like Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg will face greater challenges; North Rhine-Westphalia will register the largest workforce losses.
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Attracting Immigrants
Germany is making improvements in living conditions and migration processes so that more foreign workers can be attracted to the nation. However, many report poor treatment of immigrants despite that.
Concerns about the Culture of Welcome
A Syrian refugee who came to Germany in 2016 with a Bachelor’s and Master’s in IT expressed disappointment as he cited, among others, racism and incompetence in society regarding acceptance. He mentioned wanting to go to Switzerland saying, “I gave my very best to be considered an equal, but I felt discrimination and rejection. I want to be treated as an equal, but I’m not going to beg for it.”
The Bertelsmann Report points out that an unwelcoming culture and a lack of long-term perspectives could be disincentives for foreign workers to stay further in Germany, worsening labor shortages.
Immigrant Demographics
According to the German statistics office Destatis, 12.2 million residents were born abroad. They are the vast majority: 8.3 million from elsewhere in Europe, followed by Asia (2.7 million) and Africa (647,665).