Europe faces labor shortages as population ages

[one...two...tree 2,762]

DAVOS, Switzerland: On a continent accustomed to headlines about chronically high unemployment and fearful of immigrants, European politicians face an unusual task: finding workers for their companies.

And executives gathered in Davos are urging a politically unpopular solution: let skilled immigrants fill labor shortages that will continue to grow as the work force in Europe declines sharply amid a slowing in birth rates and a rise in the number of retirees.

"The story of the future is labor shortages," said Kenneth Rogoff, a professor at Harvard and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund. The problem, he added, is that "Europe has an immediate demographic problem and is very hostile to immigration."

The population of Europe is projected to slide over coming decades, and in some countries the decline will be dramatic: Germany, currently the largest country in the 27-member European Union, with over 80 million inhabitants, could find itself with just 25 million people at the end of the century, some estimates suggest.

According to Nicholas Eberstadt, a demographer at the American Enterprise Institute, 2006 was probably the first year when deaths exceeded births in Western Europe. Only allowing a greater inflow of immigrants, experts said, would keep the population growing.

The trend has broad implications at home and overseas, analysts say.

If allowed to fester, it will put a strain on Europe's tax-financed pension and health care systems and risk undermining the Continent's competitiveness against other major economies, like that of the United States, whose population is still growing at a healthy clip. More broadly, it could also diminish Europe's weight on the international stage at a time when booming populations have bolstered the political confidence of countries like China and India.

....

"Short of a postmodern baby boom, which looks unlikely, Europeans will have to brace themselves for being post-powerful," Anderson said.

The impact of a stagnating working- age population is already being felt in the European economy. Parts of the labor market are suffering shortages, even as unemployment continues to run higher than in the United States.

There are more than one million unfilled jobs in Germany and Britain, according to Manpower, a recruitment company.

Companies like the German engineering giant Siemens and BT, the British telecommunications company, complain that they have trouble filling their vacancies.

...

"No politician gets re-elected by encouraging immigration," Arkless said. "There are 687,000 open jobs in Germany and closed borders, so there is no inclination to fill them with immigrants."

While Turkey is expected to increase its numbers of skilled workers over the next two decades, so is another nearby country, Egypt. Because of aging, the EU will lose 60 million people from the work force in 10 years, Arkless said. At the same time, 60 million workers will look for work in Turkey and Egypt, he said.

"Egypt within 20 years could be a new labor pool for Europe," he said.

And the question of importing workers from abroad goes beyond labor markets, said Walter Kiehlholz of Credit Suisse.

"There are all sorts of positive side effects from a younger, growing population: more dynamism, higher asset prices, more innovation. It affects the psychology of a country," Kiehlholz said.

The conundrum speaks to a much larger puzzle in an increasingly globalized world: While the advance of the market economy has led to a gradual liberalization of goods and capital, the movement of labor has been restricted.

"That is one of the great ironies of our day: Technology has made it easier and easier for people to move, but governments are making it harder and harder," Eberstadt said.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/25/bus.../dmigration.php

[natty bumppo 297]

EUR, send boats ... we have a solution

[William33 110]

EUR, send boats ... we have a solution

Damn Straight.....

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

With unemployment rates in the double digits, some areas as high 30%, it doesn't make a first bit of sense to me that there are labor shortages in Germany, for example. What companies are looking for, however, is a cheap work force that shuts the ** up. There's going to be major trouble over this as the chronically unemployed and underemployed will have a hard time understanding why they have been applying for hundreds of jobs without ever being considered while here come immigrants that immediately have a job and income. It won't be pretty, that's for sure.

Some of my friends back home are desperately looking for an exit from Germany. They say that they work ever more for ever less in terms of compensation. Canada is becoming more and more attractive to them. Some have eyed Australia as well.

[JoeMama 0]

EUR, send boats ... we have a solution

Yeah a 12 million illegal persons solution

[homesick_american 1]

With unemployment rates in the double digits, some areas as high 30%, it doesn't make a first bit of sense to me that there are labor shortages in Germany, for example. What companies are looking for, however, is a cheap work force that shuts the ** up. There's going to be major trouble over this as the chronically unemployed and underemployed will have a hard time understanding why they have been applying for hundreds of jobs without ever being considered while here come immigrants that immediately have a job and income. It won't be pretty, that's for sure.

Some of my friends back home are desperately looking for an exit from Germany. They say that they work ever more for ever less in terms of compensation. Canada is becoming more and more attractive to them. Some have eyed Australia as well.

ITA. I find it hard to believe that Germany needs workers because its unemployment rate is in the 10% range. Even the UK's unemployment rate is 5.5%, higher than that of the USA. France's unemployment is dismal, and Poland's is 15%.

Europe is fading, and fading fast; and they really have noone to blame but themselves.

[Heracles 417]

Canada is becoming more and more attractive to them. Some have eyed Australia as well.

Australia has a huge worker shortage with the lowest unemployment in 33 years, 4.4%. I do not know why Mexicans do not head there considering in the US they will earn $2 an hour whereas the minimum wage per hour in Australia, for an adult, is about $13. Brick layers for example are earning up to $1000 USD per day..

Edited June 14, 2007 by Infidel

[JoeMama 0]

Canada is becoming more and more attractive to them. Some have eyed Australia as well.

Australia has a huge worker shortage with the lowest unemployment in 33 years, 4.4%. I do not know why Mexicans do not head there considering in the US they will earn $2 an hour whereas the minimum wage per hour in Australia, for an adult, is about $13. Brick layers for example are earning up to $1000 USD per day..

Maybe because it's too far to swim and legal immigration is enforced there

[Nessa 23]

EUR, send boats ... we have a solution

Yeah a 12 million illegal persons solution

excellent idea

Edited June 14, 2007 by nessaandcharles

[pedroh 21]

Canada is becoming more and more attractive to them. Some have eyed Australia as well.

Australia has a huge worker shortage with the lowest unemployment in 33 years, 4.4%. I do not know why Mexicans do not head there considering in the US they will earn $2 an hour whereas the minimum wage per hour in Australia, for an adult, is about $13. Brick layers for example are earning up to $1000 USD per day..

they are.. but Australia has specific requirements for their immigrants.. the Australian consulate in my hometown goes to the private colleges (well, most good univs in Mexico are private) and has conferences and 'job fairs' for people who have the qualifications necessary to move to Australia, actually they offer a lot of benefits and help..

obviously those college graduates are not the ones who want to cross the Rio Bravo (from the other side of the river lol)

[mawilson 2,133]

Europe is fading, and fading fast; and they really have noone to blame but themselves.

They can always blame the USA and global warming.

[homesick_american 1]

Europe is fading, and fading fast; and they really have noone to blame but themselves.

They can always blame the USA and global warming.

LOL...Europe needs to walk the walk on environmental issues before they can point the finger at us for ANYTHING. Pure, unadulterated hypocrisy.