Figures from the Federal Employment Agency have revealed that the number of nurses working in the care sector has fallen significantly over the past year due to coronavirus in Germany.

Germany needs nurses

Thousands of employees in the German care industry have left their jobs since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Between April and the end of July in 2020, the number of people working in Germany’s care industry fell by around 9.000, a decrease of 0,5 percent. The figures were obtained at a request from The Left parliamentary party from the Federal Employment Agency (BA).

The exodus of workers has been felt across the care industry, including in hospitals and elderly care homes. Clinical care was particularly affected, with the number of employees falling by 5.124 between April and July. In the same period, the number of employees working in elderly care fell by a total of 3.884.

According to the report, all 16 of Germany’s federal states experienced a decline in their care workforces. Bremen experienced the largest decline in its clinical care workforce, with the number of employees falling by 1,7 percent. The biggest decline of employees in elderly care was in Hesse, where the workforce dropped by 1,6 percent.

More nurses want to retire

The report comes just as the World Association of Nurses has warned that more and more nurses are looking to leave their jobs due to burnout and the stress caused by the coronavirus pandemic. According to the International Council of Nurses (ICN), the pandemic could lead to thousands of employees leaving their jobs as early as the second half of the year.

The CEO of the ICN, Howard Catton explained that the shortage of skilled workers in the global care sector could rise to almost 13 million. The ICN has called for better pay for employees to try and address the problem.