Overview

• Between 2015 and 2024, Germany added 600,000 skilled labor positions, with foreign workers driving this growth as domestic employment declined.
• Over one million new workers in helper roles, requiring no formal training, were almost entirely foreign employees during the same period.
• West Germany has a younger-to-older worker ratio of 95:100, while the new federal states lag significantly at 68:100, highlighting regional disparities.
• Experts warn that current labor immigration levels are too low to sustainably close workforce gaps in the long term.
• Eastern regions outside major cities face heightened risks of labor shortages, emphasizing the need for targeted migration policy reforms.