Will 2025 be a good year for employees? One thing is certain: in 2025, uncertainty on the labor market will increase rather than decrease. There might be some tougher meetings than others. What do applicants and employees have to prepare for? 5 important developments at a glance.
1. Employers gain power
“In some sectors there could no longer be any talk of an employee market,” says Claudia Michalski, chairwoman of the Outplacement and Workforce Transformation specialist association in the Federal Association of German Management Consultancies (BDU). This applies, for example, to the automotive industry or in chemistry. “The complaint about the shortage of skilled workers is likely to have been resolved with this work,” is the expert’s assessment.
Those looking for work in areas such as marketing or software development also have to be prepared for a more complicated process, says Lisa Feist, economist at Indeed Hiring Lab.
Employees – whether with or without management responsibility – need more time to find work if they have lost their job, said Michalski. Anyone looking for work should invest more effort in applications and prepare for possible frustrations, waiting times and setbacks.
In addition, Feist adds: The negotiating power of companies has increased significantly again. This can be seen, for example, in the fact that employers are increasingly ordering their employees back to the office and are even accepting layoffs. Anyone looking for a new job will need more flexibility in terms of working models, time and money next year.
2. Segmented market
Wolfram Tröger, Vice President of the BDU, sees a two-part market. “There are industries in which employees can still afford everything, such as civil engineering engineers, in the field of AI or even tax consultants.”
According to Feist, the prospects for job seekers in 2025 remain better in occupational fields that are independent of the economy, such as education, nursing or social work, as well as in areas with a structural shortage of skilled workers such as crafts.
3. Soft skills are the new hard skills
If you want to prepare yourself for the coming times, you need above all tolerance for ambiguity, says Michalski – that is, the ability to acknowledge and transfer ambiguity and uncertainty. “We have to deal with the fact that nothing is certain anymore, even if that is not a typically German characteristic.” This means, among other things, being open to new trends such as artificial intelligence (AI) and not being afraid of them.
“Work on making your resume attractive,” says Michalski. Optimize your documents and increase your digital presence. “Without a LinkedIn profile, nothing works in administration, administration and business administration,” says the labor market expert.
Wolfram Tröger recommends – if possible – not to immerse yourself in the world of purely routine activities. “There is a great risk of falling victim to AI here.” It is better if you remain agile and flexible.
In addition, it can be helpful to consider family businesses or medium-sized businesses when looking for a job. They promise more stability than large corporations. Tröger will be forced to cut jobs. A family business, on the other hand, will try to keep people.
4. Artificial intelligence
The ability to deal with AI is generally becoming more and more important. “Prompt engineering, i.e. the ability to effectively use and control AI systems, will play a central role in many professions, especially in office work,” says Feist. It is not necessary that everyone can develop AI, but its application and integration into everyday work is crucial.
Job seekers should therefore familiarize themselves intensively with AI and learn how to use this technology productively.
5. Minimum wage and salary transparency
In 2025 the minimum wage will rise to 12.82 euros per hour. This measure improves the income situation of low-income earners to some extent and gives them more purchasing power, which strengthens their financial situation and can have positive effects on consumption. They also create a higher minimum wage, stronger incentives to enter the labor market or to work more hours. This has a positive effect on labor force participation and can counteract the structural labor shortage that continues to exist in some sectors.
The European Union's Wage Transparency Directive must also be enshrined in law in Germany by 2026. “Germany is lagging behind when it comes to salary transparency compared to other Western industrialized nations,” says Feist. In the future, a wage transparency law should ensure that salary negotiations go into salary negotiations with a better information basis. Above all, it should help to reduce the gender pay gap, including the wage gap between men and women.
Photo: Sina Schuldt/dpa/dpa-tmn
Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa/dpa-tmn
