The Jobs Stories

There's been two reports from public TV in Germany which had bits and pieces to do with the current employment or unemployment scene in the country.

First, ZDF (Channel Two) chatted a fair bit over the lack of skilled labor in the country.  The problem here is that there are a couple of regions which have a fair amount of unemployment, and two states (Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemberg) which are in desperate need of more potential employees. 

It's a curious thing when you examine Germans....they tend to concrete themselves down to one city or one area.  The suggestion that you might be from Potsdam and be out of work for an entire year, then find several responses down in Karlsruhe....but you just won't move. 

You would think the German government would get involved and look for people unemployed and living in apartments, and find some way to pay for the guy to vacate this apartment, and move 500 kilometers away, and he'd be happily employed.

Adding to this issue is a problem I noted last year....in that a large segment of the migrants that came into Germany....were attracted to the northwest (the state of NRW).  Unemployment numbers are growing higher each quarter in that region, and it was already difficult for a German with skills or a background to get a job.  At some point, the German leadership in Berlin should have realized the problem they were creating, and tried to pressure the migrants into moving into Bavaria....to increase the job possibilities.

The second report, via ARD (Channel One, public TV)....concerned this amazing problem....a lack of government employees.

Germany-wide, they say there are 185,000 openings for state/federal jobs, and they are having issues in filling these.  Part of the problem is finding people with skills or certifications....part of it is simply the regions don't have the numbers to apply for the jobs.

According to the data presented, over the next fifteen years....there's 1.5 million public-sector jobs (gov't jobs) which will become open because of retirements.

One part of this report noted that around 32,000 teachers are simply missing.  They would hire the people....if they showed up with the right degree. 

The cops?  Right now, they need 8,500 folks to fill the jobs.  It's not exactly a profession that most kids dream about.  A crisis period?  No, not yet.

The firemen around Germany?  They need 4,000 folks to fill the vacancies.

Using the migrants?  Well....they'd need to be skilled and have the certifications.  You could be talking about tens of thousands and at least two to four years to get someone to point of filling some of these professions.  If you were looking for a roadmap which would take these people to this point.....well, it doesn't really exist to the degree required. 

Jobs becoming a top ten issue in Germany?  You can look forward in four years and forecast that this will be a major issue for the next national election.  But trying to build some political agenda around this?  It's near impossible.