Germany updates: Many want to work, but can't – DW – 06/27/2025
While Germany faces labor shortages, figures show much of its workforce is untapped with childcare and health concerns holding many people back. Meanwhile, the military conscription debate rumbles on. DW has the latest.
A large pool of the German labor market isn't being used, according to recent data, at a time when business groups are bemoaning a lack of available staff.
Childcare shortages are cited as one reason, especially for women, while health concerns were the main issue that men listed as obstructing their path to work.
At the same time, Defense Minister Pistorius has been defending a legal framework for conscription, though he's stressing that voluntary service is still the goal.
The center-left politician has pushed back against conservative demands from within the coalition government for a quick return to the draft. He argues that Germany currently lacks the barracks and training space to make it viable.The German Bundestag has approved a two-year suspension of family reunification for certain migrants, passing the measure by a wide margin on Friday.
The bill, introduced by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), applies to relatives of people living in Germany without recognized asylum status. It was adopted with 444 votes in favor and 135 against.
The far-right AfD had announced in advance that it would support the proposal from the conservative-Social Democrat coalition.
Germany's Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has defended the proposed suspension of family reunification for refugees with subsidiary protection status, just ahead of a Bundestag vote.
Speaking during Friday's parliamentary debate, Dobrindt — from Bavaria's conservative CSU party — said the measure would reduce immigration by 12,000 people annually and disrupt criminal networks and smugglers' business models.
Critics of the renewed suspension point to the constitutional protection of family life and warn of negative consequences for integration. Supporters of it, meanwhile, argue that many municipalities have reached their intake limits.
Also in the Bundestag today, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is pushing to ban public funding for NGOs that it claims act as political allies of other parties.
They argue the move about protecting state neutrality — but critics see it as a crackdown on civil society and dissent.
Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has defended calls for a legal mechanism to allow military conscription while insisting that voluntary service remains the current priority.
Speaking to the DPA news agency ahead of a national conference of his Social Democratic Party (SPD), Pistorius emphasized that his position differs from that of the conservative CDU/CSU bloc, which governs in coalition with the SPD. The conservatives are pressing for a swift return to mandatory military service.
The minister argued that drafting soldiers is not currently feasible due to insufficient barracks and training facilities, despite increased infrastructure investment in recent years.
For the time being, he said, the number of volunteers is sufficient.
However, Pistorius rejected outright opposition to a draft. "I also oppose the voices that believe we must exclude any form of obligation," he said.
He noted that it is not possible to predict when mandatory conscription might be needed, but said the key issue is legal preparedness. "The decisive factor is that the mechanism is enshrined in the law," he said.
"From the very beginning, it was important to me that we do not introduce the obligation lightly—and certainly not unilaterally. The draft legislation therefore stipulates that such a step would require the approval of both the Cabinet and the Bundestag."
"To be clear: if we can ensure our security with voluntary service, then that is what we will stick to," he said.
Conscription was suspended in 2011 but remains enshrined in the German constitution.
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Some 3.1 million people in Germany want to work but are not actively seeking jobs or immediately available for employment, according to data from the Federal Statistical Office.
These individuals, aged 15 to 74, are part of what statisticians refer to as the "hidden reserve" of the labor market. While not currently participating in the workforce, they express a desire for paid employment.
Nearly 1.8 million of those counted in the 2024 were considered to be relatively far removed from active working life, the office in Wiesbaden reported.
Among them, 930,000 are not looking for work because they believe no suitable position is available. For another 380,000, responsibilities such as caregiving duties are the main barrier.
Amongwomen aged 25 to 59, 31.3% said they could not take up work because of caregiving responsibilities. For men in the same age group, health problems were the leading reason for inactivity, affecting 35.5%.
This group does not include officially unemployed individuals, who are available to the labor market. That number was around 1.5 million in 2024. Combined, the unused labor potential in Germany for the year totaled approximately 4.6 million people.
At the same time, business groups say labor shortages — particularly in skilled roles — are part of a structural crisis that is causing Germany to lag behind its international competitors.
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from DW's newsroom in a rainy but warm Bonn, and welcome to DW's coverage of developments in Germany on Friday, June 27
About 3.1 million people in Germany want to work but, for one reason or another, haven't been actively job hunting or aren't ready to start right away, new figures show.
This group doesn't include officially unemployed individuals who are available to the labor market. Combined, the unused labor potential in Germany for the year totaled approximately 4.6 million people.
Meanwhile, Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is once again floating the idea of bringing back a legal framework for conscription — but he's keen to stress that this doesn't mean a return to mandatory military service just yet.
For all of the latest news from Germany, stay tuned here.
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