Wide labor shortages are noticeable in Europe
In the first quarter of 2022, 193 million people in Europe were looking for paid employment, and 74.5% of people between the ages of 20 and 64 were employed in some capacity, the highest employment rate since Eurostat began reporting this data in 2009. The most recent statistics indicate that the amount has increased even more since the first quarter of 2022.
In addition, there are currently six million open positions in the EU, which is higher than the 3% historical average since statistical records of this data began in 2006. In response, the jobless rate in the EU decreased to 6.0% in July, which is a record low since at least 2001, when Eurostat started collecting this information.
There are labor shortages everywhere
Nearly half of the businesses in France that the largest French employers' association CPME recently surveyed were looking to hire. 94% of them claim that it is difficult for them to locate applicants who are a good fit or even candidates at all.
The situation appears to be pretty similar on the Rhine side. According to a survey conducted by the Munich-based Ifo Institute on behalf of the foundation for family enterprises, up to 87% of German family firms reported feeling the effects of the labor crisis.
You will hear the same criticism if you board a Danube cruise ship that is possibly understaffed and sail down to Vienna.
The number of open positions is at an all-time high—more than 250,000—and workers are desperately needed everywhere, according to Julia Moreno-Hasenöhrl, deputy head of the Austrian Economic Chamber's department for social and health policy.
"Labor shortages and recruitment issues are prevalent across all industries. According to Heikki Räisänen, director of research at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the food and lodging sectors are particularly tough to navigate. Social services and health care are also facing challenges.
Companies have trouble hiring employees, particularly in the culinary, tourism, and construction industries, even in Spain, where the unemployment rate is still quite high at 12.6%.
Migration within Europe
The impediments to intra-EU mobility brought on by the COVID pandemic may be one of the causes of the labor shortage in the wealthier EU countries.
"What we see most of is Eastern Europeans having returned home during the pandemic and preferring not to head back to Western Europe today," said Gerhard Huemer of SMEUnited.
However, the Eastern European immigrants who have returned appear to be active in their native nations. For instance, Poland has the lowest unemployment rate in 32 years, and more than half of the businesses are worried about a labor shortage.
Polish businesses are most severely impacted by the scarcity in the construction sector. When a large number of Ukrainian construction workers residing in Poland went to protect their country against the Russian invasion, this business had to deal with a quite different kind of exodus of migrant workers.
While this is going on, Eastern European nations like Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania are having trouble staffing their sectors because so many talented people are leaving for more lucrative opportunities elsewhere. Approximately 40% of Albanians with higher education have emigrated, according to a recent research by the European Training Foundation.
Reforming immigration
Companies do, however, also look to the government for assistance in addressing the labor shortfall. While business associations in certain nations advocate changing social security systems to make it less appealing for people to stay out of the workforce, others of the member states believe that permitting more immigration is part of the solution.
Portugal's economy minister, António Costa Silva, told the media in August that "we need to greatly raise the active population since this is an enormously essential asset for the development of the country."
The Portuguese government lowered visa restrictions for former Portuguese colonies like Brazil, Angola, and Mozambique in response to the increased demand for laborers.
The Spanish government passed a measure in July that would make it simpler to hire employees from outside the EU.
Meanwhile, Slovenia expects to grant a record number of work permits this year. A new immigration law is anticipated to be proposed in Germany by the end of this year, while more lenient visa access regulations will take effect in Austria in October.
International talent recruitment should become simpler and quicker as a result, according to Moreno-Hasenöhrl of the Austrian Economic Chamber.
However, Europe requires more than just the usual "high-skilled professionals." The construction industry, tourism, and the food and beverage industries are some of the industries most negatively impacted by the labor shortage.
In a recent interview with El Pas, Cristina Faciaben, the secretary for migration of Comisiones Obreras, the largest union in Spain, said that "we must be careful not to discriminate and only regularize the most competent immigrants for the benefit of the economy."
