Overview of
fields of activity

Healthcare and nursing: Demand remains high

Healthcare and nursing professions make up the largest percentage of jobs within the sample. This field of activity took the top spot for the first time during the pandemic in 2020. Four professions from the healthcare and nursing area are among the top 25: In addition to nursing specialists, recruiters are looking for geriatric nurses in particular (19th place). In addition, hospitals and nursing homes are looking for more assistants than they were in 2022: The profession improved by ten positions in the ranking (25th place). The drop in open positions for physician assistants is likely compensation for above average growth last year. The number of such positions is now equal to the number for nursing assistants. In 2022, this area held 15th place in the overall rankings. The analysis shows: The staffing situation in healthcare and nursing professions remains tight, even after the coronavirus pandemic.  

Warehouse logistics: Materials handling hub

Warehouse logistics increased its percentage over the previous year, and is at third place among the 28 fields of activity for the first time. With this ranking, the area has once again exceeded its highest levels in the last two years. Three of the ten most in-demand professions are related to warehouse management and merchandise handling, testament to the high demand for manpower. Labor development in warehouse logistics is driven partially by online retail. This sales channel is growing in both B2C and B2B business, and was most recently accelerated by the pandemic. In addition to open positions for semi-skilled workers, job seekers with training as a warehouse clerk or warehouse logistics specialist will find a wide range of open positions.

Sales loses ground

Developments in sales consulting could be likened to a landslide. Since the survey began, this field of activity has always taken first or second position in the sample – primarily thanks to sales positions. Now, the area has slipped from first to seventh place.

Sales professions have disappeared from the top 10 list for the first time. Customer advisors are now in eleventh place; in the past, they have always been among the top ten. Last year, the top ten also contained two additional sales specializations. Companies may be somewhat more conservative in their hiring plans for sales than usual at present due to the poor economic outlook.

Despite the drop, sales departments continue to offer many opportunities to job seekers. However, sales is also clearly undergoing a fundamental shift with the move towards online channels. Further developments will show whether the dominance of sales among occupational areas has been permanently reversed.

Consulting expertise sought in many different fields

There was a significant increase in healthcare, social and legal consulting, causing this occupational area to improve from ninth to fourth place. Its share of the overall sample has only been higher than it is today twice since 2008. The growth is due in particular to increasing demand for social workers and social education specialists. There are also many open positions to choose from in business-related professions, for instance for economists, auditors, and tax consultants.    

IT loses ground

The IT occupational area lost ground for the second time in a row, and is now in fifth place. By way of comparison: In 2021, IT professions made up the largest percentage of the sample (10.0 %). Companies needed a particularly high number of IT specialists during the coronavirus pandemic, for example to ensure smooth, secure collaboration among their many employees working from home. The percentage of IT professions has only been lower one time than it was this year (2010: 5.7 %). Software development remains by far the most in-demand IT specialization. IT administrators follow far behind, at 22nd place in the overall rankings. A little less than one in five job advertisements is directed at them among IT professions. The demand for IT consulting seems to be slightly lower than it has been over the last two years. The percentage of job advertisements for IT consultants is lower than it has been in ten years, with IT consultants at 67th place (2022: 38).

Engineers moving up

Engineering professions, like IT, are part of the development occupational field. Two years ago, they made up a lower share of open positions than ever before (2021: 5.3 %). The current increase is due in particular to positive developments among electrical engineers, architects and civil engineers, as well as mechanical engineers and vehicle engineers. These three disciplines make up three quarters of all job advertisements in engineering. Mechanical and vehicle engineers were also among the top 25 professions once again for the first time since 2020.

Experts are worried that fewer students are choosing to go into STEM fields, and that many engineers will be retiring in the foreseeable future.