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Why global labour shortages continue: skills, safety and childcare matter

By GlobalRAWS Research Team Published: August 31, 2026 A labour shortage does not always mean that a country has too few people. The real problem may be missing skills, weak training systems, unsafe workplaces, poor job matching, or a lack of childcare. Evidence from Germany, the United States, Vietnam, Nigeria, Malaysia, Australia, and South Africa shows that worker shortages have many different causes. Germany Has Workers, but Not Always the Right Match Germany’s official skilled-worker portal identifies strong demand for nurses, doctors, engineers, IT specialists, craftspeople, transport workers, and green-energy professionals. However, Germany’s Economy Ministry says the country does not have a nationwide shortage in every occupation. The gaps are concentrated in particular sectors and regions. At the same time, up to 1.2 million people aged 15 to 29 may be outside employment, education, or training. This estimate depends on the age group and statistical definition used. This is a skills-matching problem. Available workers may lack the qualifications, language ability, location, or support needed for open jobs. US Trades Need More Trained Workers A 2026 Lightcast study estimated a shortage of 1.3 million skilled-trade workers in the United States. The study identified around 2.1 million openings each year, with roughly three openings for every person completing a relevant training programme. Retirements were estimated to create about 40 percent of annual openings. These figures are an industry estimate, not an official vacancy count. However, they show why apprenticeships, technical education, and certification are important. Vietnam Has Orders but Lacks Technical Skills Supporting-industry companies in Hanoi report that worker shortages are affecting production. Tomeco planned to recruit around 160 workers for a new factory but had hired only about 70. The company said some orders could not be completed on schedule because it lacked enough trained workers. Technical employees may need months of workplace training before they can meet production and international quality standards. Automation also means workers must operate, monitor, and maintain new systems. The problem is therefore not only finding people. It is finding people who can perform the job. Safety Is Driving Healthcare Workers Away Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis is adding to its healthcare staffing problems. BusinessDay, citing the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition, reported that 91 health workers were kidnapped and 15 were killed across 101 incidents between 2023 and 2025. Insecurity can force medical workers to leave rural facilities or move abroad. When one health worker disappears from a poorly staffed community, thousands of patients may lose access to care. Specialist training also matters. A CodeBlue commentary described how Malaysia’s private dialysis centres depend on nurses with post-basic renal qualifications. These nurses manage complex machines, vascular access, and life-threatening emergencies. Losing one specialist nurse is not the same as losing a worker who can be replaced quickly. Childcare Is Also Workforce Infrastructure Some parents cannot enter or remain in employment because childcare is unavailable or too expensive. Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed that around 700,000 parents with children under 15 were out of work in 2022 to 2023. About 85 percent were mothers. Caring for children was the main barrier reported by many parents. Among mothers who wanted work or more hours but were unavailable, about 28 percent said childcare was unavailable, fully booked, or absent from their area. A 2026 US analysis found that 46 percent of children aged five and under lived in licensed childcare deserts in 2025. The share exceeded 70 percent in rural communities. South Africa Disputes the Simple Shortage Story South Africa’s Labour Minister, Nomakhosazana Meth, rejected the claim that South Africans are unwilling to work. She argued that the larger problem is a shortage of employment opportunities. The government still accepts that some critical skills are scarce. However, it wants employers to recruit locally first and use foreign workers lawfully when genuine gaps remain. This shows why shortage claims require occupation-level evidence. High unemployment and shortages in specific professions can exist at the same time. The Main Lesson Worker shortages require more than recruitment. Effective responses may include: A shortage report is not automatic permission to recruit internationally. Employers must still follow local-hiring rules, professional licensing, immigration requirements, and worker-protection standards. Sources

The global healthcare staffing crisis: lessons from Sarawak, Australia and Florida

Healthcare worker shortages are appearing in very different regions. The causes include ageing populations, unfilled rural posts, limited training capacity, professional licensing, and workers leaving difficult jobs. The evidence from Sarawak, Australia, and Florida shows that one recruitment campaign cannot solve the global nurse and doctor shortage. Sarawak has current public-sector vacancies Malaysia’s Health Ministry reported major healthcare gaps in Sarawak as of June 30, 2026. The public system had vacancies for: The vacancy rates were 30 percent for medical officers, 28 percent for specialists, and 15 percent for nurses. Sarawak also reported a 43 percent no-show rate among medical officers offered permanent positions in the previous year. This suggests that offering jobs is not enough. Location, working conditions, career development, and retention also matter. Australia shows a wider skills problem Australia’s 2025 Occupation Shortage List found that 29 percent of assessed occupations were in shortage. Nearly half of trade roles and two in five professional occupations remained in shortage. Health, education, and construction were among the main pressure areas. The Australian data is a point-in-time labour-market assessment. It does not mean that every healthcare occupation is open to international recruitment. Employers, immigration authorities, and professional regulators apply separate rules. Healthcare workers must normally complete professional registration before they can practise. Florida’s figures are forecasts Florida’s healthcare numbers should be described as future projections, not current vacancies. A workforce analysis cited by Florida State University projected that the state could face a shortage of about 18,000 physicians and nearly 60,000 nurses by 2035. Florida’s population is growing and ageing. Many existing doctors and nurses are also approaching retirement. These changes are expected to increase demand while reducing part of the current workforce. Rural North Florida faces an additional problem. Some communities already have limited access to primary and specialist care. A state may have many professionals in major cities while rural areas remain seriously underserved. Training capacity limits the supply Healthcare workers need years of education and supervised clinical experience. A shortage cannot be solved by adding classroom seats alone. Important training barriers include: The Florida Center for Nursing has identified faculty, preceptor, workload, mentoring, and compensation problems as barriers to increasing the nursing workforce. This means the supply pipeline can remain slow even when many students want to enter nursing. International recruitment has strict conditions International recruitment can support countries with genuine shortages. However, a foreign qualification does not automatically provide permission to practise. For example: Depending on the profession and destination, applicants may need qualification verification, language testing, licensing examinations, supervised practice, or local orientation. Recruitment must be ethical Hiring from another country can fill one gap while creating another. The World Health Organization’s Global Code asks destination countries to consider the effect of recruitment on source-country health systems. The Code was amended in May 2026. The changes included care workers and encouraged co-investment so that worker mobility benefits both source and destination countries. A responsible international recruitment programme should include: The summary Healthcare shortages are not only recruitment problems. They are also training, licensing, distribution, and retention problems. Sarawak needs workers in its public facilities today. Australia’s shortage list shows wider pressure across skilled occupations. Florida is preparing for large projected gaps by 2035. The strongest response combines local training, better working conditions, rural incentives, professional licensing, ethical international recruitment, and long-term retention. Sources Malaysia medical registration requirements