Recruiting industry in Germany - statistics & facts

With an ageing population and decreasing fertility rates, the average age of Germany’s population has steadily increased in the last years, albeit welcoming more than 1.1 million immigrants in 2020 alone. As a result, the German economy seems to struggle with vacant positions and a lack of young candidates in the future. Data for vocational training positions, a distinguishing factor in the labor market of the country, points to a widening gap between offered positions and the number of candidates: In 2020, about 30,600 vacant apprenticeship positions were recorded. In short, the lack of applicants could eventually lead to a less productive German economy. In the same manner, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as the automobile industry – backbones of the German economy, are currently struggling to find workers to occupy new positions or to train replacements for their ageing personnel. The industrial and manufacturing sector is not an exception, as recruiting employees in the service and finance landscape has also become more difficult.

The shortage of skilled workers complicates the recruiting process

Finding skilled employees capable of filling positions in the traditionally client-oriented recruitment industry is a challenge many companies are currently facing in Germany. As employees of this branch are expected to face specific client demands and personalize their work process according to these demands in a shifting and fast-paced environment, it is inevitable that the recruiting process becomes more complex. Luckily, German companies can count on an array of different options to find these suitable candidates. As it seems, online job platforms used by these companies contributed with over 31 percent of new placements in 2019. Headhunters, personnel consultants, job boards, virtual and physical job fairs, and social media are some of the most popular recruitment channels employed by German companies in the recruitment of skilled employees.

Digitalization could simplify the recruiting of workers in Germany

Given the importance of this topic, it comes as no surprise that the German recruiting industry represents an important share of the global market. Germany traditionally accounts for more than five percent of this market in terms of annual revenue. Furthermore, this industry generated almost 30 billion U.S. dollars in 2017. All the same, this industry still has a few problems that prevent it from fully maturing. For instance, physical and nondigital recruiting channels, such as printed media ads and person-to-person recommendations, are still a problem regarding the digitalization and the ensuing efficacy of the recruiting process. Furthermore, the recruiting sector must relieve smaller companies from the burden of a long and costly recruiting process while avoiding a standardized approach for selecting suitable employees.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Dec 21, 2023

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