skilled labor shortage
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skilled labor shortage
An economic situation in which there are not enough qualified workers for vacancies in certain professions or industries.
Der Fachkräftemangel in der IT-Branche führt zu einem intensiven Wettbewerb um Talente.
The skilled labor shortage in the IT sector is leading to intense competition for talent.
This word is a typical German compound. It consists of 'Fachkräfte' (plural of Fachkraft, meaning qualified workers) and 'Mangel' (shortage, deficit). The '-n-' is a linking element that connects the parts.
Eine Fachkraft ist eine Person mit einer abgeschlossenen Berufsausbildung.
A skilled worker is a person with completed vocational training.
People often speak of a 'Fachkräftemangel in' (skilled labor shortage in) a specific sector, e.g. 'in der Pflege' (in nursing/care), 'im Handwerk' (in the skilled trades). Typical verbs are 'dem Fachkräftemangel entgegenwirken' (to counteract the skilled labor shortage) or 'unter dem Fachkräftemangel leiden' (to suffer from the skilled labor shortage).
Viele Krankenhäuser leiden unter dem akuten Fachkräftemangel in der Pflege.
Many hospitals are suffering from the acute skilled labor shortage in nursing.
A very common phrasing is 'es herrscht Fachkräftemangel' (there is a skilled labor shortage). Here, 'es' (it/there) stands as a placeholder at the beginning of the sentence.
In vielen technischen Berufen herrscht seit Jahren ein großer Fachkräftemangel.
In many technical professions, there has been a major skilled labor shortage for years.
staff shortage
'der Fachkräftemangel' and 'der Personalmangel' both mean that there are not enough people available for work. 'Personalmangel' is more general: employees are missing, whether or not they have special training. 'Fachkräftemangel' is more specific: there is a shortage of qualified people with particular knowledge or specific training. The words can be confused because when a company has a 'Fachkräftemangel', it also has a 'Personalmangel'. But if there are simply too few people for a shift, you would more likely say 'Personalmangel'. If specially trained nurses, tradespeople, or IT specialists are missing, 'Fachkräftemangel' fits better.
Wegen des Fachkräftemangels findet die Firma keine ausgebildeten Elektriker.
Because of the skilled labor shortage, the company cannot find trained electricians.
Nach der Arbeit bleibt die Station wegen Personalmangels länger geschlossen.
After work, the ward stays closed longer because of a staff shortage.