Two-thirds of German IT, telecoms firms plan more jobs this year
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - More than two-thirds of German IT and telecoms firms plan to create new jobs this year, a survey by industry association Bitkom showed on Monday.
The German information and communication technology (ICT) industry currently employs more than 950,000 professionals, making it the second-largest industrial employer, according to Bitkom.
Software companies and IT service providers in particular are seeking staff, with a respective 75 and 71 percent of them planning to take on new employees, the industry body's semi-annual survey showed.
"The employment boom, which created nearly 100,000 new jobs in the industry over the past five years, continues," Bitkom said in a statement.
Nearly 70 percent of companies plan to hire new staff; only five percent expect job cuts.
More than half of respondents said a shortage of skilled labour was a major obstacle for adding jobs.
Germany's unemployment rate is at a record low of 6.5 percent.
Industry associations have been warning of shortages of IT professionals and engineers for some time.
The Boston Consulting Group forecasts a shortage of up to 2.4 million workers in Germany by 2020.
(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Mark Potter)
