Germany needs 400,000 immigrants per year to fill the workforce of Europe’s biggest economy, the head of its national labour agency said.
Detlef Scheele said Germany’s ageing population meant that the number of working-age people was likely to decline by nearly 150,000 this year.
His comments come less than five weeks before a general election, with some politicians insisting there must be no new migrant surge into Germany.
But Mr Scheele said immigration needed to rise compared with recent years to plug gaps in the workforce.
He said it was not about asylum seekers, but “targeted immigration for the gaps in the labour market”.
“We need 400,000 immigrants per year, so significantly more than in recent years,” he told the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.
“From nursing and climate technicians to logisticians and academics, there will be a shortage of skilled workers everywhere.”
Addressing the potential political fallout, he said: “You can stand up and say, 'we don’t want foreigners,' but that doesn’t work.”
His comments were criticised by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which rose to prominence after a refugee surge in 2015.
Rene Springer, an AfD member of parliament, described his comments as “incomprehensible” and accused Mr Scheele of being a “mouthpiece for companies that want to push down wages further”.
Konstantin Kuhle, an MP from the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), said Mr Scheele was right and called for reform of immigration laws after the election.
“Without more immigration, growth and prosperity in Germany are in danger,” he said.
Germany has 83 million inhabitants. Last year, the number of foreign nationals living in the country grew by about 204,000.
This was the lowest growth rate in a decade. Mr Scheele said the working-age population was likely to decline more quickly in the coming years.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm
Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh130,000
On sale: now
Pros%20and%20cons%20of%20BNPL
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MATCH INFO
Crawley Town 3 (Tsaroulla 50', Nadesan 53', Tunnicliffe 70')
Leeds United 0
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
BLACK%20ADAM
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The%20specs%20
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
