The IAB institute registered a drop in the number of job vacancies to 870,000 in the first quarter 2009. This is 221,000 less than in the fourth quarter 2008 and 273,000 vacancies less than one year ago. This drop in the first quarter 2009 almost exclusively affected the west of Germany due to this region’s greater dependence on exports.
In the metal processing industry, electronic industry, mechanical engineering and motor vehicle construction the number of vacancies had already fallen by almost 50% in the fourth quarter of 2008 as compared to the respective quarter of the previous year. In the meantime the crisis has come to affect the number of vacancies in almost any line of industry.
In the field of social services, on the other hand, the IAB registered an increase in the number of job vacancies. The number of job vacancies in the social service sector is the second biggest following that of engineer vacancies. The field of social services includes vacancies for work places in areas such as social work, social pedagogics, education as well as care for old and ill people. In the whole of Germany 63,000 employers believe that over the next three years to come the demand for workforce in social professions is going to increased and fifty percent of employers even fear a lack of workforce in this field.
Four times a year the IAB analyses the total number of job offers in Germany, even those which are not registered by Federal Employment Agencies. To this end the IAB interviews about 14,000 businesses each autumn quarter and 8,000 companies over the other three quarters. The IAB study is available for free-of-charge download. 