In Germany, those born in the years with the highest birth rates are gradually retiring without sufficient replacement. According to a new study, Germany will soon face a problem called labor shortages.
The results of a new study by the German Institute for Economics show that the country is likely to face a shortage of five million skilled workers by 2030. The reason for this shortage: The number of people retiring is hundreds of thousands more than the number of new entrants to the labor market.
In 2022 alone, the number of retirees will be almost 300,000 more than the number of people entering the labor market.
The reason for this shortage is the difference in birth rates in different years. While 1964 was one of the best years in terms of birth rate with 1.4 million births, in 2009 only half of that number, 736,000 children, were born in Germany.
Thus, in 2029, when a large proportion of those born in 1964 will retire, those born in the years close to 2009 will enter the labor market. Thus, from now on, a gap of about 700,000 potential workforce is predictable.
Pressure on employees
One of the first and most important problems that this difference in birth rate and consequently the shortage of labor brings with it, is a problem that concerns the social security insurance systems.
According to one expert in this field, providing services to retirees is the responsibility of employees. The imbalance between outputs and inputs means, in the first place, an increase in pressure on new entrants to the labor market during this period and a reduction in retirement benefits for labor market outputs.
One of the solutions suggested by some experts to counter this trend is to increase controlled immigration to Germany or to admit more people into the labor market.
Of course, according to some experts in this field, the significant difference in the birth rate in different years means a growing hole that can be “difficult” to fill.
