Baden-Württemberg labor market: demand for skilled workers remains high.
The shortage of skilled workers is an increasing problem for companies in Baden-Württemberg. The long-term trend clearly points in this direction. Against this backdrop, a recent IAW study commissioned by the Baden-Württemberg Regional Directorate of the German Federal Employment Agency addresses the question of the extent to which company strategies can counteract the shortage of skilled workers. The results show, on the one hand, that companies in sectors with a shortage of skilled workers systematically apply certain strategies more frequently than other companies: For example, further training is more likely to be offered by companies that are more affected by the shortage of skilled workers. On the other hand, reorganizations are geared to the availability of skilled workers. For example, they do not increase in-house production if no skilled workers are available. And companies with a higher proportion of vacancies invest more frequently in digitization.
Reform of the German Personnel Leasing Act (AÜG): The goals were only partially achieved.
Although many stakeholders consider the intentions and objectives pursued by the legislator with the revision of the AÜG to be fundamentally sensible, the individual regulations and their implementation are assessed as complex and only effective to a limited extent overall. In particular, the two core areas of the reform, the new regulations on the maximum duration of temporary employment and on equal pay, are seen by many as in need of improvement. The relatively small scope of the effects and the often only small or undetectable strength of the effects, which are evident in many of the evaluation's findings, are due not least to the fact that overall only a limited number of individuals and companies are affected by the new regulations, because some of the "new regulations" have already been implemented for a long time, and that the overall depth of intervention is low compared to the previous situation. For these reasons, the effects of the reform - be they desirable or undesirable - remain manageable overall.
Migrating foreign skilled workers - missed opportunities for the German labour market? (in German)
Between 2000 and 2020, more than 18 million foreigners migrated to Germany, while at the same time more than 13 million foreigners left the country (excluding refugee migration). The reasons given by the emigrants for their return migration are manifold. About a quarter of the respondents left Germany for professional reasons (unemployment, no suitable employment, lack of recognition of professional qualifications). Another quarter of the emigrations were for reasons of residence law. A lack of social integration is also frequently cited as a reason, while economic or family reasons are less common. In many cases, the departure results from a bundle of different structural and individual factors.
In-company training participation in Baden-Württemberg increased slightly in 2021, but more training positions remained unfilled.
Both the net and gross training company rates increased again in the country from 49% to 52% and from 27% to 29% respectively, while the proportion of companies that did not provide in-house vocational training despite having a training authorization fell slightly from around 27% to around 26%. In Germany and western Germany, however, the net training company rates were four percentage points higher and the unutilized in-company training potential was also around two percentage points lower in each case.
In the 2020/2021 training year, around 28% of the in-company training places on offer in Baden-Württemberg remained unfilled, compared with around 23% in the 2019/2020 training year. At 72%, the filling rate in the state was at roughly the same level as in western Germany (73%).
Betriebliche Beschäftigungsentwicklung und betriebliches Einstellungsverhalten in Baden-Württemberg.
A gender-specific analysis based on the IAB Establishment Panel, IAW Brief Report 5/2025.
Study on the reasons for immigration and emigration commissioned by the Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees, and Integration, March 2026.
