Study on the job market shows
Warehouse helpers and office workers are particularly in demand
A study by the Bertelsmann Foundation analyzed which sectors have a particularly large number of unfilled positions. The evaluation of millions of job advertisements shows that two areas in particular are competing for skilled workers nationwide.
The boom in online trading fueled by the corona pandemic has increased the need for employees in warehouse logistics. According to an evaluation of around 45 million job advertisements posted online from 2019 to 2023, employees in this job category are particularly sought after by employers. In 162 of 401 districts in Germany, these job applications are ranked first in the evaluation published by the Bertelsmann Foundation in Gütersloh.
Office and secretarial specialists are most in demand, especially in metropolitan areas and larger cities. They are only at the top of the statistics in 101 districts. Nationwide, however, there were the most job advertisements with this profile in 2022, at 254,499. Closely behind are the advertisements for helpers in logistics with 253,487.
The three professions with the biggest losses between 2019 and 2022 are skilled workers in mechatronics (lost 76 places in the ranking), tool technicians (minus 54) and bank clerks (minus 43). “Employers have shown a certain degree of restraint in many skilled trades in recent years. That seems to be changing again in 2023,” says Herdin. The proportion of skilled workers fell by more than four percentage points to around 37 percent from 2020 to 2022. “In the first half of 2023, however, there will be a larger proportion of skilled worker positions again at almost 41 percent.”
The biggest plus among the sought-after workers comes from the healthcare sector. Advertisements for psychiatrists and psychotherapists have climbed 106 places in the ranking, followed by specialists in paper and packaging technology (plus 97), childcare workers and educators (plus 62) and specialists in internal medicine (plus 59).
“Helping professions are not dying out”
It is worth taking a differentiated look at the larger cities and districts. “I was surprised by the regional differences. In cities and districts, 17 different professions made it to first place,” says study author and foundation expert Gunvald Herdin. “That’s why regional-specific measures are needed,” says the study author and head of the job monitor. “This is a challenge for those involved in further training.” “You can clearly see the boom in online trading. Because we all shop online, there is now more need for helpers as well as skilled workers in the areas of logistics, forwarding and packaging. This opens up completely new opportunities on the job market,” says the author.
According to the study, we are looking for people at all levels of requirement. “Contrary to popular belief, the helping professions are not dying out. Instead, they are continually changing as a result of market developments and digitalization,” says Herden. Outside of the warehousing industry, helpers will be in demand in the first half of 2023, especially in the cleaning industry (5th place), in the catering industry (15th place) and on forklifts (20th place). At the higher levels, employers are looking for masters, technicians and bachelor’s graduates in business organization (4th place), accounting (9th place) and advertising and marketing (10th place). With a master’s degree, positions are available in sales (7th place) and software development (13th place).
For the study, the authors evaluated around 45 million job advertisements for 1,210 professions from 2019 to June 2023. Job advertisements from temporary employment agencies were given a lower weighting. Reason: The advertising behavior for vacancies in temporary employment does not correspond to that in other economies.