Dr. Sandra Zimmermann

Head of Scientific Dialogue

Dear readers,

Technological progress, new industry priorities, and demographic change: adapting to shifting labor landscapes requires a skilled, healthy, and resilient workforce. While transition plans are often ambitious – from AI adoption to climate adaptation – projects can fail when there is no qualified personnel to implement them. 

In the past months, WifOR has gathered scientific insights on the links between labor and socioeconomic transformations – as well as the benefits of investing in people, their skills, and their future. Learn more in our end-of-year edition of Shape It With Data.

Best wishes,

The AI wave is already being pushed by the workforce 

Fears of replacement due to artificial intelligence overshadow the fact that many jobs will not disappear but change. Workers across sectors are already adapting – adjusting their daily tasks and using AI for greater efficiency.

Additionally, there are roles that are unlikely to vanish, as I explained in an article for Tagesspiegel. These are people-centered positions, including manual work and social care roles, and jobs dealing with automation itself.

Looking at the labor market from the workforce’s perspective

Analyzing traditional indicators like employment figures is not enough to assess how the labor market is evolving. We also need to identify other factors that affect employees’ performance, opportunities, and satisfaction: sick days, attachment to the workplace, possibilities for job insertion, real wages, and so on.

WifOR’s FRAX index presents this bigger picture. Our data for Q2 in Germany shows that, while unemployment is still climbing, higher salaries and a growing attachment to companies are compensating for negative trends.

• Explore the FRAX here, as well as the award-winning article (in German) on the topic.

The energy transition, only viable with enough trained staff

Switching energy sources at a large scale requires specialized workers – but finding them amidst labor shortages and providing adequate training is already proving difficult.

These challenges were made visible in a new WifOR study that analyzes plans for the hydrogen sector in Eastern Germany. Even though the projects’ volume and market value keeps expanding, the number of people entering chemistry-related professions remains constant – thus resulting in unfilled vacancies. The solution: improved opportunities for skilling, more attractive career paths, clearer regulations, and stronger regional networks.

Tackling labor shortages and securing people’s health 

One major shift is severely impacting Europe: demographic change. As the boomer generation starts to retire, the workforce shrinks, leaving personnel bottlenecks across organizations.

The health sector provides an example of this phenomenon, with an expected shortage of 4.1 million workers by 2030 in the EU (Source: WHO). WifOR also assessed these staff deficits regionally. In Hamburg, for example, 1 in every 8 healthcare positions could be unfilled by 2040. Closing these gaps is not just a matter of finding more workers: it also requires systemic action such as reducing bureaucratic hurdles and enhancing employer and regional attractiveness.

• Explore our case studies for Hamburg and Saxony (in German). 

Health additionally impacts other sectors of the economy. Healthy employees are more productive, helping to address some of the problems created by workforce shortages. They are absent less often, remain employed for longer, and rapidly adjust to changes in their professional environment.

The workforce is at the center of transformations 

Whether embracing new technologies, leading in growing industries, or acquiring essential skills, the workforce is the catalyzer of socioeconomic change. WifOR’s insights underscore these connections and provide data for targeted labor strategies and policymaking. Investing in workers – in their knowledge, their well-being, and their opportunities – is crucial to close personnel gaps and secure a more resilient future for communities and economies.

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