Since 2008, more people have been emigrating from Germany than flocking to it, reversing decades of migration inflows to Europe's biggest economic engine. Demographic analysts say engineers, scientists, doctors and other highly skilled workers make up a disproportionate share of the retreat.
In contrast, Germany's tough immigration laws, a rigid labor code and more inward-looking hiring practices have kept it from importing enough skilled labor to compensate.
What's of particular concern to German political and business leaders is that many of those leaving hark from the cutting-edge sectors that Germany views as crucial to safeguarding its export advantage, such as nanotechnology, electrical engineering, biotechnology and clean technologies. Unless it can stanch the flow, they argue, the country's economy is at risk.
"We all have to be clear on how potentially explosive this labor shortage is," German Labor Minister Ursula von der Leyen said in a recent German newspaper interview.
