Mannheim – November 03, 2026 -- German demand for skilled professionals rose three percentage points in the third quarter, lifting the Hays Skilled-Worker Index from 36 to 39 percent after a sharp drop in spring. Hiring remains selective: companies continue to cut jobs and postpone replacements while recruiting for roles of strategic, regulatory or operational importance.
Construction index reaches 212 percent, up from 136 percent a year earlier
Construction posted the highest demand of all sectors surveyed. Engineer demand rose four percentage points quarter on quarter, led by civil, electrical and project engineers. Automation engineers gained 28 percentage points, design engineers 19 and process engineers 12.
Housing construction remains weak. Infrastructure measures, energy-transition investment and modernization projects are nonetheless driving demand for technical staff. René Gruner, head of Digital Technology & Engineering at Hays, said energy-sector demand appears mainly indirectly, through electrification, automation, plant engineering and infrastructure projects.
IT demand stays flat at 59 percent while IT security jumps 18 points
Overall IT demand was unchanged (+0 percentage points) from the second quarter. Specialist roles grew faster: IT security specialists rose 18 percentage points and SAP developers 15. The largest volumes remain in IT developers (+1), IT consultants (+3) and IT architects (+2).
Andreas Sauer, head of Technology at Hays, described a smaller, more demanding market in which employers target specialists for security, infrastructure, data, architecture and system transformation rather than hiring broadly.
Compliance manager demand in finance surges 49 percentage points
Finance demand edged up one percentage point to 63 percent. Compliance managers gained 49 percentage points, tax managers 15 and risk managers 11. Accountants, controllers and certified accountants remain the most sought-after profiles.
Erich Schwinghammer, head of Finance & HR, said that in uncertain times employers focus on limiting financial risk and meeting regulatory requirements rather than expanding capacity.
Legal job postings climb 12 points; data protection lawyers up 135
Legal postings rose 12 percentage points quarter on quarter. Demand for lawyers grew 13 percentage points to 84 percent. Data protection lawyers (+135 percentage points) and compliance lawyers (+49) recorded the strongest relative gains in the group. Contract managers are also in demand.
Marketing, sales and procurement post gains; life sciences slips
Marketing demand rose 10 percentage points, with content managers up 32. Sales postings gained about five percentage points and returned to positive territory. Business development managers recorded the steepest rise in that group.
In procurement, operational buyers gained 29 percentage points, while technical purchasing roles fell 12. Rico Koller, key account manager for procurement, said employers want versatile generalists who can run purchasing end to end.
HR demand held near 17 percent, with HR developers and talent managers up 13 percentage points. Life sciences fell one percentage point, although quality managers rose 14.
Hays CEO expects selective hiring to continue
Alexander Heise, Hays CEO for Germany and Europe, called the rise a positive sign but said it is too early to declare the labor market out of the woods. He cited weak employment trends and persistent cost pressure as reasons hiring policy is likely to stay selective at many companies.
The index, compiled quarterly by index Internet und Mediaforschung GmbH for Hays, tracks job ads on leading online job boards, in daily newspapers and on Xing, measured against a Q1 2015 baseline.