Minimum wage of €13.90 an hour in 2026 (€14.60 from January 2027), unemployment of 3.8% – well below the EU average – and 157 occupations short of skilled workers, from nursing and construction to cooks and drivers. Find out where to look for a job, how to apply in German and what to do in your first weeks.
The Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, BA) checks every year which occupations are short of skilled workers. In its analysis for 2025 it found 157 shortage occupations (163 in 2024). About half of all vacancies reported to the BA were in these occupations. The biggest shortages are in:
Good to know if you work in IT: in 2025 the BA no longer found a shortage in software development, IT sales or metal cutting – so competition for these jobs is stronger than a few years ago.
The EURES report on labour shortages for 2025 also lists, for Germany, occupations such as accountants, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics, bakers, building electricians and carpenters and joiners. In summer, agriculture hires seasonal harvest workers – German labour law, including paid holiday, applies to them too.
Key figures: Eurostat (population on 1 January 2026; unemployment and employment rates 2025; minimum wages July 2026); for the United Kingdom – Office for National Statistics; for Liechtenstein – national statistics. Country information: EURES – Living and working conditions, public employment services and the official government websites listed under each country. Rules, thresholds and amounts can change – check the official sources before you move. Updated: October 2026.
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