Record Personnel Shortage—149,000 IT Jobs Unfilled in Germany

A recent Bitkom study on the job market for IT specialists, which surveyed 853 representative companies from all sectors, provides precise information on the subject. It was only during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021 that the continuous increase of recent years was interrupted, and the number of vacancies briefly fell below the 100,000 mark. "The shortage of IT specialists in Germany is independent of economic cycles and is a systemic problem for the German economy.

Too few skilled workers and too much regulation are holding back digital Germany," said Bitkom President Dr. Ralf Wintergerst. "In addition to companies, this is also increasingly affecting public administration, which urgently needs more digital expertise. The shortage of IT specialists will become even more acute in the coming years due to demographic developments. Politicians and companies must take swift and massive countermeasures.

Computer scientists and career changes

The number of computer science graduates rose slightly from 32,125 to 34,385 in 2022. 72,389 people recently started a computer science or similar degree. "There are still too few young people and especially too few women studying computer science. And the drop-out rate is consistently over 50 percent, which is far too high. We will not be able to meet the growing demand for IT specialists from universities," says Wintergerst. In the past twelve months, the most common applicants for IT positions were those who had completed a dual vocational training program (44 percent). 16 percent had an IT or IT-related university degree, while 17 percent had started but not completed their degree. And around a quarter have changed careers. "Lateral entry into IT is an attractive option. There are now also a number of offerings that support those interested, such as programming boot camps," says Wintergerst.

Mobility, telecommuting, and AI

Only 3 percent of companies have no problems filling IT vacancies. Conversely, around one in four companies receive virtually no applications for IT specialist vacancies. And companies face a number of other challenges in filling open positions. But some of the reasons lie within the companies themselves. 40 percent admit that they are unable to meet candidates' requirements for mobile working, while 29 percent require a willingness to travel or relocate. About one-fifth of companies are unable to meet training requirements, and almost as many (18 percent) say they are too slow to make hiring decisions.

6 percent of companies consider applicants to be too old. "Given the stiff labor market, companies need to do more, such as speeding up their internal application and decision-making processes. This can help individual companies, but it does not solve the problem of personnel shortages," says Wintergerst. "Politicians can and must do more here. For example, by offering older employees incentives and unbureaucratic work beyond the age limit so that they can stay in the workforce longer."

Artificial intelligence could help alleviate the personnel shortage. Around half of companies believe that AI can help in their own business. Four out of ten expect almost all employees to come into contact with AI (43 percent).

bitkom.org