The domestic labor market is characterized by high but declining employment and labor shortages in many areas.

According to the GKI’s monthly surveys, companies’ willingness to hire shows uncertainty in the first months of 2025: in May 2025, the proportion of companies planning to increase their workforce in the next three months was 9%, while 12% would like to reduce their workforce. In trade and construction, those planning to reduce their workforce are in a clear majority compared to those planning to expand, in industry these two proportions are roughly the same, while in business services, staffing is expected to increase.I

New jobs are created primarily in the private sector – for example, in logistics, business services, tourism and in newly launched industrial investments, staff expansion is expected. Layoffs tend to occur in the public sector or in certain areas of traditional industry. At the same time, in some sectors (e.g. in the manufacturing industry) a trend is emerging that the positions of employees who leave due to retirement or job changes are increasingly being filled. In addition, the labor shortage is causing significant problems for every third service provider, every fourth construction company and every fifth industrial company. Many companies have difficulty finding suitable people for positions requiring high levels of expertise in engineering, IT, healthcare and other fields. There are also several shortages of physical professions (e.g. construction workers, machine operators, drivers), and the hospitality and tourism industries are also struggling with a shortage of professionals (partly due to low earnings).