New VDI figures
After the crisis, there is a shortage of skilled workers again
The coronavirus crisis has hit the (electrical) engineering labor market hard. Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, the demand for labor in the engineering sector has fallen by 23.7%, while unemployment has risen sharply by 38.6%.
This is shown by the new Engineering Monitor, which the German Economic Institute (IW) compiles quarterly on behalf of the VDI. The situation is particularly tricky for younger engineers with expiring project contracts and career starters, as employers are currently primarily trying to retain their permanent staff and are refraining from hiring new staff.
According to the VDI, all engineering job categories across Germany are "clearly" affected by the negative trend. While the effects on civil engineers and IT specialists are still comparatively moderate, the cuts are "serious" for mechanical, automotive and electrical engineers in particular, according to the VDI.
The demographic trend is, of course, continuing to have an impact on the engineering labor market - corona or not. The number of engineering graduates is continuing to fall as a result of the decline in the birth rate, while experienced engineers are increasingly leaving the profession.
"While the effects of the economic slowdown and the coronavirus crisis are likely to be temporary, the long-term demographic challenge will become noticeable again once they subside," predicts Ingo Rauhut, labor market expert at the VDI.
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