(de-news.net) – Further training could address nearly 17 percent of skilled-worker shortages in Germany, particularly in nursing, according to a new study. Employment has improved among less and moderately educated workers, while regional disparities persist. Immigrants are heavily represented in several shortage occupations. September unemployment fell to 2.994 million, with the seasonally adjusted increase pointing to a subdued autumn recovery.
According to an as-yet-unpublished study by the Competence Center for Securing Skilled Labor (KOFA) at the German Economic Institute (IW), referenced in media reports, further training and upskilling for assistants could reduce Germany’s shortage of skilled workers in occupations requiring vocational training by nearly 17 percent. On behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, KOFA supports small and medium-sized businesses in recruiting, retaining and qualifying skilled personnel, placing particular emphasis on strengthening the available workforce through additional qualifications.
In 2025, about 225,000 qualified workers were missing from occupations that typically require vocational training, while nearly 1.3 million unemployed assistants were unable to find suitable opportunities in their intended occupations. The study indicates that qualifying unemployed and employed assistants could potentially fill 38,204 skilled positions, equivalent to 16.9 percent of the identified shortfall. The greatest potential was identified in health care and nursing, where qualification measures could connect available workers with occupations facing substantial shortages.
Drawing on data from the Federal Employment Agency (BA) and its Institute for Employment Research (IAB), KOFA argues that Germany’s labor-market challenge is characterized less by a general absence of workers than by a mismatch between available labor and the qualifications required by employers. From this perspective, workers who have not completed vocational training represent a substantial potential reserve for addressing shortages if they can obtain the qualifications needed for skilled positions.
The potential is particularly apparent in nursing. In elderly care, a shortage of 15,233 skilled workers in 2025 contrasted with 25,113 unemployed assistants. In health and hospital nursing, there were 13,390 unfilled skilled positions alongside 4,549 unemployed assistants. Because both occupations are regulated professions, formal qualifications are required to work as a skilled professional. KOFA also identifies assistants who are already employed as an important potential resource. According to the study, the shortages in elderly care and health and hospital nursing could theoretically be eliminated if 4.9 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively, of employed assistants in those fields obtained the necessary qualifications.
Employment gap by education level narrows as regional differences persist
Over the past decade, employment rates among Germans ages 25 to 64 with medium and high levels of education have moved closer together. While the employment rate for those with high qualifications remained at 88 percent in both 2015 and 2025, the rate for people with medium-level qualifications increased from 80 percent to 83 percent. Federal Statistical Office data show that the resulting gap therefore narrowed from eight percentage points to five.
The largest increase occurred among people with lower educational qualifications, although their employment rate remained substantially below those of the other groups. Between 2015 and 2025, their employment rate rose from 59 percent to 63 percent. Germany also recorded employment rates above the OECD average across all three qualification categories in 2025: 83 percent compared with 78 percent for medium qualifications, 88 percent compared with 87 percent for high qualifications, and 63 percent compared with 60 percent for low qualifications. The gap between medium and high qualifications was consequently five percentage points in Germany, compared with about 10 percentage points across the OECD.
Significant regional differences persisted, particularly among people with lower educational qualifications. In 2025, only 53 percent of this group was employed in Berlin, compared with 71 percent in Bavaria. Regional differences were narrower among people with medium-level qualifications, whose employment rates reached 86 percent in both Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg but fell to 78 percent in Bremen and 79 percent in Berlin. Among highly qualified workers, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Saarland recorded the highest employment rate, at 90 percent, while Bremen and Berlin recorded 85 percent and 86 percent, respectively. According to the Federal Statistical Office, regional disparities were considerably smaller among people with high educational qualifications.
Migrant employment gaps narrow with time, data shows
Workers with an immigration background account for particularly large shares of employment in several occupations affected by skilled-labor shortages. In 2025, they represented 56 percent of cooks, 55 percent of workers in food manufacturing, 54 percent of floor installers, and 51 percent each of workers in scaffolding and meat processing. They also accounted for 47 percent of food-service employees and bus and tram drivers.
Across the economy as a whole, 27 percent of dependent employees had an immigration background, meaning that they had either immigrated to Germany themselves or had two parents who had immigrated since 1950. According to the BA’s shortage analysis, the occupations concerned either already face a shortage of skilled workers or are at risk of developing one. Other shortage occupations with above-average shares of workers with an immigration background included plastics and rubber manufacturing, at 44 percent; professional freight driving, at 41 percent; hotel services, at 40 percent; nursing, at 33 percent; dental assistance, at 32 percent; and building electrical work, at 29 percent. The corresponding shares were considerably lower in emergency medical services, at 7 percent; meat sales, at 13 percent; and agriculture, at 15 percent.
Among occupations not classified as shortage professions, workers with an immigration background were also relatively underrepresented. That goes for police services, at 8 percent; public and judicial administration, at 9 percent each; and teaching, at 9 percent in vocational subjects and 10 percent in primary education.
The pace of labor-market integration varies substantially according to migrants’ place of origin and length of residence in Germany. EU migrants benefit from free movement and, in many cases, faster recognition of professional qualifications. In 2025, among people ages 25 to 59 who had lived in Germany for less than five years, 89 percent of men and 73 percent of women from EU countries were employed. Among migrants from Africa, the corresponding rates were 79 percent for men and 47 percent for women, while among migrants from the Middle East they were 57 percent and 28 percent, respectively.
The employment differences narrowed with longer residence. Among African migrants who had lived in Germany for 20 to 25 years, employment reached 82 percent for men and 68 percent for women. The corresponding rates for migrants from the Middle East were 87 percent and 79 percent. According to the Federal Statistical Office, lower employment rates among women who have recently migrated may partly reflect the fact that women are more likely to arrive as family members and may remain outside the labor market longer because of family responsibilities. Across the entire population ages 25 to 59, regardless of immigration background, employment rates in 2025 stood at 88 percent for men and 81 percent for women.
Germany’s unemployment falls in September to some degree
Germany had 2.994 million registered unemployed people in September 2026, 67,000 fewer than in August but 40,000 more than a year earlier. The unemployment rate declined by 0.1 percentage point to 6.4 percent. Yet the seasonally adjusted figures provided a less favorable picture: unemployment increased by 12,000, suggesting that the labor market’s customary autumn recovery following the summer slowdown remained limited.
Broader underemployment, measured on a seasonally adjusted basis and including people participating in labor-market programs as well as those temporarily unable to work, declined by 7,000 to 3.615 million. Even so, the figure remained 25,000 above its level in September 2025. Andrea Nahles, President of the Federal Employment Agency, characterized the beginning of the autumn recovery as muted and said the broader economic improvement had not yet translated into stronger employment.
Labor demand also remained relatively subdued. The BA recorded 660,000 registered vacancies in September, 30,000 more than a year earlier. Its BA-X labor-demand index rose one point during the month to 104, although it remained six points above its level a year earlier. An estimated 1.082 million people received unemployment benefits in September, 85,000 more than in September 2025. At the same time, an estimated 3.704 million working-age people received basic income support, representing a decline of 145,000 from a year earlier. The figure corresponded to 6.8 percent of Germany’s working-age population.
