Germany is facing a severe shortage of care workers as the number of people needing care has almost doubled in recent years, while the number of care providers has steadily increased.
The information, provided by the Ministry of Labor, came in response to a question from a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) René Springer and was provided to dpa.
Many people who work in the childcare industry are immigrants and the AfD wants to drastically reduce immigration. The Expert Council on Integration and Migration said that in 2022, about 30% of people working in care for the elderly had a background from other countries.
Data from the Ministry of Labor showed that there were 2.9 million people in need of care in Germany in 2015 – but this will rise to 5.6 million by the end of 2023. At the same time, the number of workers in hospitals and nursing homes supports the government. Social security increased from 1.5 million to 1.85 million or about 23%.
The data also showed that it is taking longer to fill jobs in hospitals and nursing homes, despite rising unemployment among nurses and caregivers.
In October, according to the Federal Employment Agency, about 34,000 caregiving jobs were reported. On average, it now takes three quarters of a year (269 days) to complete a medical job. In 2015, this was 136 days.
To care for the elderly, it took the longest in October at 296 days, while in 2015, jobs were left unfilled for half as long (152 days). In 2023, the numbers were worse than this.
60,000 unemployed nurses and caregivers
As hospital and nursing home recruitment continues to increase, the number of unemployed registrars is increasing at the same time.
In aged care, there were about 40,000 unemployed workers in 2023 – 5,000 more than in 2015. In hospital care the number rose by 8,000 to 20,000.
Regarding the growing number of unemployed people in the region, the AfD’s Springer criticized the government’s efficiency.
He said, “Instead of just looking to find money in foreign markets, the potential that exists in our country should be started.”
The Labor Department statistics did not distinguish between those with or without immigration records.
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