So great is the demand for good workers in Germanyso the balances in labor market were completely overturned. Traditionally, employees complain that many companies don’t even bother to respond — even in the negative — after an interview. But in Germany, the conditions are reversed, since potential employees are those who “snob” the companies.

This practice is called “ghosting” and is commonly applied by companies to potential employees. For years, interviewers have complained that recruiters don’t follow up on them, even to let them know they’ve been rejected. But in Germany, where one in two companies face a serious shortage of staff, the work of personnel departments has become more complicated.

Now the phenomenon of “disappearance” of potential employees after interviews has become an everyday occurrence.

Indeed, according to a job search site survey of 400 recruiters in various German companies, one in two said the trend has increased over the past year. One in four says it happens to them at least once a week, and one in ten says they lose a potential employee a day. Male candidates are the most likely to “disappear”.

A complete revolution in the labor market, this year the workforce will be reduced by at least 300,000 people.

In fact, one in five recruiters say employees disappeared even after they accepted a job offer, while 7% hired someone who just didn’t show up on their first day of work – and presumably didn’t show up for next. . . . This data most clearly reflects the large shortage of staff that German companies are facing in the face of an aging population and changing attitudes caused by the pandemic. “Employees often have a few good options to choose from, just like companies used to have,” explains Tim Verhoeven, Human Resources Specialist at Indeed, according to Bloomberg.

At the same time, according to data published by the Ifo economic institute, almost every second company in Germany is forced to limit its activities because it cannot find staff. The largest deficit is observed in the service sector, the problem is especially acute in the hotel sector. In this sector, two out of three companies report a serious shortage of staff. At the moment and in the near future, the generation born immediately after the end of the Great Patriotic War and before 1964 is retiring. Thus, according to the estimates of the prestigious German economic institute IW, in the next 15 years the country will lose more than 5 million jobs. This year alone, the workforce will fall by at least 300,000 as the number of people retiring outstrips those entering the so-called working age. By 2029, the workforce will almost halve to 650,000 people. A law passed in 2020 encouraging 400,000 foreign workers to come to Germany a year only attracted 30,000 in its first year.

In previous years, the country has managed to attract immigrants from other European Union countries with attractive high wages, but while wages in other parts of the world are rising, the flow of these workers is gradually slowing down.

In the case of the US, according to the website of the recruitment company Venture Beat, a recent survey showed that out of 1,000 workers, 84% “disappeared” from a potential or permanent employer at least once in the last year and a half. But what is the reason? According to another study, one reason is that this behavior is common among first-time job seekers. “Missed” 31% of new candidates, while among more experienced professionals this figure was 12%. In addition, 55% of job seekers say they are “disappearing” due to an abundance of jobs compared to pre-pandemic opportunities. Finally, “disappearing” as a behavior is commonly found among job seekers in a wide variety of occupations.