The Hays skilled employee index is based on a quarterly assessment by index Internet und Mediaforschung GmbH , with the first quarter of 2015 taken as the reference value of 100. Job advertisements from the most frequented online job sites, daily newspapers, and the business network XING are included. In the 2nd quarter of 2019, the index fell by six points to a new figure of 155. The drop has been caused, above all, by the lower demand for engineers (-20 index points).

In the individual sectors in the 2nd quarter, the index was also down almost across the board. The demand for specialists in all areas fell both in processing industries (-19) and in the construction sector (-26) – although the index rose by 17 points in the IT sector to a new record of 223. The fall in the number of job vacancies for engineers is affecting all of the most important areas of expertise almost equally – development engineers (-21), electrical engineers (-18) and construction engineers (-15). “Despite the fall, we still see the labor market for skilled employees as positive overall. Many companies have moved away from the policy of putting a brake on personnel as soon as the economic situation weakens. After all, skilled workers are required for digitalization”, commented Christoph Niewerth, board member of Hays AG, in relation to the latest skilled employee index released by his company.