German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized the need for Germany to attract more skilled workers from abroad and expedite their integration into the labor market to revitalize the struggling economy, Bloomberg reports.
Germany’s potential output growth is expected to fall below 0.4% in the coming years due to an aging workforce, Scholz’s government aims to bring in skilled labor despite rising support for anti-migrant parties. Scholz stated that no economy can sustain growth with a shrinking labor force and stressed the importance of quickly getting existing migrants into jobs. He noted that employment among asylum seekers from Ukraine and other countries has increased year-over-year.
To support this initiative, Germany has implemented a modern immigration law and various measures, including loosening language requirements, to facilitate migrants’ entry into the job market.
However, economic forecasts for 2024 have been downgraded to stagnation, reflecting ongoing issues like rising gas prices and weak demand from China. Additionally, significant corporate challenges, including Volkswagen’s factory closures and Intel’s postponed investments, are exacerbating the economic situation.
