Whether as an administrative officer, social worker, teacher, judge, police officer, or employee of the public order office: jobs in the public sector are diverse and currently more popular in Germany than ever before.

This is shown by Stepstone's research for Business Insider. According to the research, searches for government jobs have doubled compared to the previous year. But where does this boom come from and why is working for the federal and state government so attractive to many employees?

If you search for the keyword “public service” on the Stepstone job board, 26,533 results are displayed. A year ago, there were far fewer here. The job board's estimate shows that job postings in the public sector have almost doubled during this period. Specifically, compared to the previous year, an increase of 93 percent was achieved. In other sectors, job postings increased by only a quarter (24 percent), writes Fenix magazin.

Such an increase in advertised jobs in the public sector is attractive. According to Stepstone's research, job searching in the public sector more than doubled within a year. While other industries were able to increase their job search queries by only 60 percent, the public sector recorded an increase of 102 percent. This means that more and more people are actively looking for a job with the state. And more and more people consider the state an attractive employer. According to Stepstone, the results of a 2020 survey also support this. Public service ranked second in popularity, right behind the IT and internet industry.

The labor market is changing

But what is attractive to people about a job in which you are in the service of the state? A full 32 percent of those who work in the public sector and want to stay there cite one main reason for this: “security”. Namely, both public employees and civil servants enjoy a certain degree of protection against dismissal and, thanks to the collective agreement, can look forward to precise and fair wages. But this point alone does not offer a satisfactory answer – especially since the labor market is changing.

What exactly does this change look like? According to information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4.5 million people in the USA quit their jobs in November 2021 alone. To find out whether such a wave of resignations also threatens Germany, Stepstone conducted another survey in 2022 called “The Silent Resgination” and evaluated over 11,000 questionnaires. Their result: in Germany, too, a flood of resignations can be expected, and the labor market will likely become much more flexible and unstable in order to cope with new market conditions, writes Fenix magazin.

The reason for this development is the excessive supply of jobs in both the USA and Germany. As a result, employees today can increasingly choose where they want to work, and therefore far more often decide on a better-paid and more flexible job. At the same time, the number of employees in Germany is decreasing year by year. In that sense, a major labor shortage is expected, which increases the certainty that you will be able to find a job at any time.

So what else motivates people to work for the state? According to Stepstone's research, 66 percent of respondents stated that public service is “meaningful work” for them. 57 percent particularly value “flexible working hours” and “flexible work”. On the other hand, things like “exciting tasks”, “teamwork”, and “a suitable corporate culture” were less important. In short: those who want to work for the state are looking for a meaningful job and are willing to accept doing less exciting work.

Source: poslovni.hr