“Many people work below their potential”

As recently as the fourth quarter of last year, Deutschland figures from Weber’s employer show two million open positions – more than ever before. In the first quarter of 2023, however, this value fell significantly, to around 1.75 million. The shortage of skilled workers is therefore far from being solved, as other figures from the IAB show. Because the shrinking of the working population is still to come in the Federal Republic. By 2060, the potential labor force will fall by 11.7 percent. From 45.7 million people to 40.4 million. “This is the demographic turning point, so to speak,” says Weber. It’s possible to balance that out, says Weber, but you have to pull a lot of different levers at the same time.