Thousands of sales assistants will be missing from the German retail sector by 2027

The German economy will be facing an increasing shortage of skilled labour in the coming years, which will also hit hard the grocery retail sector. According to a recent study by the Institute of German Economy (IW), which is closely linked to employers, the sales sector could be particularly affected thereby with a predicted deficit of around 37,000 skilled workers by 2027. This shortage is partly attributed to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, during which many employees reorganised their careers and did not return to their former positions.

There are already bottlenecks today, as the number of unemployed people in the sales sector (45,000) is significantly lower than the number of vacancies (65,000). With almost 850,000 employees, this group is one of the largest ones in the German labour market, and a continuing shortage of skilled workers could jeopardise the day-to-day operations and competitiveness of companies, according to the authors of the study.

Of particular concern is the fact that the shortage of skilled labour could not only affect work processes in the retail sector, but also the entire food retail value chain. The IW experts also expect significant shortages in other important areas such as social work, nursing and IT.

To counteract these developments, study author Alexander Burstedde recommends measures to keep older employees in the labour market for longer and to make greater use of the potential of immigrants. However, the industry must be prepared for the fact that the skills gap will continue to grow in the coming years, especially in eastern Germany, where the decline in young employees could be particularly severe.

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