Number of employees in Germany decreased between 2022 and 2023
In the eastern German states excluding Berlin, the number of German employees decreased between 2022 and 2023 - foreign employees somewhat offset this decline, according to a study by the business-friendly Institute of the German Economy (IW) in Cologne on Friday.
Thousands of companies in Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Thuringia, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and Brandenburg struggled with a lack of skilled workers, the researchers explained. In Saxony, for instance, the number of German employees fell by around 7,500 between 2022 and 2023. However, with an increase of 14,800 employees, international workers not only made up for this decline but also contributed to employment growth. Around 8,700 of these were from outside the EU.
"Foreigners are not stealing jobs from Germans, as some might think, but are significantly contributing to employment growth," explained IW expert Fabian Semsarha. "In this way, they are making an important contribution to securing our prosperity."
The IW study is based on a special evaluation of the Federal Employment Agency's data. The IW researchers calculated how the number of socially insured employees changed by federal state and nationality on average between July 2021 and June 2022, and July 2022 and June 2023. They distinguished between Germans, EU immigrants, and skilled workers from Switzerland and other third countries.
In the context of the study, the decrease in German employees in these eastern German states was somewhat offset by an increase in foreign employees. Moreover, international workers not only made up for the decline but also contributed to employment growth.
