States need 400,000 immigrants a year / Article

Germany needs about 400,000 skilled immigrants a year to address labor shortages, said Detlef Schelle, head of the Federal Employment Agency (BA).

“In my view, this is not about granting asylum, but about targeted immigration to fill gaps in the labor market,” Schelle said in an interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung on Tuesday. “From care and air conditioning to logistics and universities, there will be a shortage of skilled workers everywhere.”

He has rejected restricting migration as a possible solution to labor market problems.

“It can be said – we do not want foreigners, but it does not work,” stressed Sele. “The fact is that Germany will be short of workers.”

Given the demographics, the number of potential workers at the traditionally appropriate age for the professions will fall by 150,000 this year, the head of the agency said, adding that the situation would be even more dramatic in the coming years.

“Germany can only solve this problem by training unskilled workers and people who have lost their jobs as a result of technological change, allowing part-time women to volunteer longer, and most importantly, by allowing immigrants into the country,” Schele said.

He expressed the view that labor shortages would be the main problem to be addressed by the next government after the upcoming Bundestag elections in September.

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