Sought-after professions - Encounters in 21 professional groups in Thuringia
Long it was a dream job for young people - now even hairdressers and hairstylists face larger shortages when filling vacancies. The profession has been added to the list of 21 occupation groups with shortages, as the Regional Labor Office announced. In Thuringia, approximately every third skilled labor profession falls into this category.
The situation is further complicated: Only six percent of the unemployed are looking for a job in a shortage occupation, according to the Regional Labor Office, which presented the annual analysis on this topic. The number of occupation groups with a shortage has decreased by two. Those that are close to this category and therefore monitored have also decreased.
"The trend will continue"
"The slight decline in shortage occupations is not surprising due to the backward job openings. But more and more people from the baby boomer generations are retiring. Even with a recently decreased unemployment rate, companies cannot often fill their vacancies because of a lack of skilled labor. This trend will continue," explained Markus Behrens, the managing director of the Regional Labor Office.
Among the problem areas with the greatest demand were healthcare and social welfare professions, industrial occupations, or occupations in company organization. Technical occupations were particularly rare in the areas of Informatics and energy technology. In addition, shortages existed in gastronomy occupations, in sales of foodstuffs, or in the cleaning sector.
Wanted: Chef and Cosmetologist
Newly added to the list were chefs, computer specialists, and cleaning workers, but also skilled workers in the field of body care, including hairstylists and cosmetologists. The situation had eased somewhat for skilled workers in the areas of construction or in warehousing. 19 other occupation groups were under observation because they could develop into shortage occupations.
In Thuringia, according to the Regional Labor Office, every fifth advertised job was for a shortage occupation. In the average year 2023, approximately 37,000 new job openings were reported, 7,800 were shortage occupations. The job market in this area has grown. However, only about six percent of the unemployed were looking for employment in a shortage occupation. Despite many job offers, there was a risk of insufficiently qualified people becoming entrenched in unemployment, the Regional Labor Office stated.
- Despite being a dream job for many, the labor market in Erfurt faces challenges, as hairdressers and hairstylists are also included in the 21 occupation groups with reported shortages.
- In Thuringia, the Regional Direction announced that approximately every third professional group falls into the category of shortage occupations, including professions like chefs and computer specialists.
- As a solution to these shortages, the Regional Labor Office suggested that individuals consider replacing their current passwords with more secure ones and consider re-training for positions in high demand, such as skilled workers in body care, including cosmetologists.
- To fill the vacancies in these shortage occupations, the Regional Labor Office has encouraged companies in Thuringia to consider offering incentives or flexible work arrangements to attract and retain skilled labor, as the trend of baby boomers retiring is expected to continue.
