Germany and Austria are facing economic problems because young people are not willing to work. Paradoxically, they have high unemployment and a shortage of employees
Germany and Austria are facing economic problems and rising unemployment. Despite the increasing number of individuals facing unemployment, entrepreneurs lament the difficulty in finding workers, even those without specific qualifications.
Authorities in both countries are considering importing labor. Germany aims to bring in about 25,000 people from outside the European Union, while Austrians are seeking manpower in India.
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In Austria, the list of fields facing a labor shortage is growing. Even unskilled workers are hard to find. Partly due to the fact that young individuals, even those lacking experience, are reluctant to take up positions with lower wages.
Michael Teisch, operator of Café Neuzeit, Vienna: "The concept of balancing life and work is unfamiliar to my generation. I personally don't fully grasp the meaning of this balance. I consistently observe a greater emphasis on balance than on work. Simply put, without work, one cannot generate income".
Entrepreneurs struggle to find employees, despite the fact that unemployment is increasing nationwide. Authorities attribute this to the insufficient qualifications of many unemployed individuals.
On the other hand, there is a regional imbalance. In the west, more job opportunities are available, but most unemployed individuals are in eastern Austria.
Johannes Kopf, Board Member, Public Employment Service Austria: "Without a doubt, it's an unusual situation even for me, who has been in the leadership of the Austrian Employment Service for 17 years. We have a recession and increasing unemployment, but also a labor shortage in many fields".
Moreover, the official list includes 110 occupations that are not of interest to the unemployed. A relevant example is bus driver. Therefore, some business people are willing to start searching beyond borders.
Germany aims to attract 25,000 unskilled workers this summer
Hermann Häckl, Managing Director: "It's an additional opportunity for us to find employees. In the past, we used to receive applications from individuals in Serbia or Bosnia, for instance. We were compelled to turn them down due to our inability to employ them. Now, this has become possible".
The Austrian Minister of Labor has initiated a project to attract skilled workers from countries outside the European Union. Currently, the minister is on a working visit to India.
The situation is similar in Germany. A restaurant in Berlin had to close last summer due to a lack of staff.
Steffen Kirchner, restaurateur in Berlin: "The message from the Employment Agency was clear: they couldn't send us those who applied for this job because they don't really want to work".
Authorities are also trying to find solutions here. For instance, they plan to bring in about 25,000 unskilled workers to address shortages in seasonal industries.
However, it will be a challenging mission. In the summer of 2022, 2,000 unskilled workers from Turkey were supposed to come to work in Germany. But the number of applicants was much lower.
