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Germany Needs at Least 200,000 Immigrants Yearly: Economist
Germany needs between 200,000 and 250,000 immigrants annually in order to cope with the labor shortage arising from declining population, according to a leading economist.
Klaus Zimmermann, president of the German Institute for Economic Research, made his proposal in an article to be published on Monday's "Berliner Zeitung" daily.
He said that 200,000 is the least requirement because even with this level of immigration, the number of labor force in Germany will still decline by 3 million by 2020.
In order to shore up the working force, the retirement year should be postponed, the education period should be shortened and there should be more training for the less qualified, he said.
As a "second pillar" of a policy to solve bottlenecking of labor force, the economist suggested that an auction procedure of time-limited visas be set up, which will enable enterprises to enlist a certain number of workers from aboard for a given period.
Proceeds from the auction can be invested in the education system of the country, he added.
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