In 2023, *10%* of German restaurants shut their doors for good, highlighting a critical shortage of skilled workers that began during the pandemic. The numbers from Tagesschau.de tell a stark story:
* 2021: 1,558 missing hospitality professionals.
* 2022: A peak of 24,758 missing workers.
* 2024: 8,810 still unfilled positions – a drop that reflects fewer establishments, not fewer problems.
Unattractive working hours, dwindling tips, and ongoing closures are reshaping the future of the industry.
ZerkerDE on
The working conditions are just awful.
As server its hard but the tips make it bearable in locations where tipping is common at least.
If you don’t get tips most jobs are just better. There is the argument to be made that raising compensation would lead to prices where nobody would eat out anymore but I am of the opinion that if a business can’t pay a living wage it just shouldn’t exist.
Otherwise-Knee672 on
Gotta wonder what it’ll take to lure people back though… free drinks?
3 Comments
**Article:** [**https://www.datapulse.de/en/hospitality-crisis/**](https://www.datapulse.de/en/hospitality-crisis/)
**Main data source:** [**www.kofa.de**](https://www.kofa.de/daten-und-fakten/studien/fachkraeftereport-juni-2024)
**Data:** [Google Sheets](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1F1S3im7tIWi_F9BHS6Fls1Qvu2M_zm-VpXxT-W8oODs/edit?usp=sharing)
**Tool:** Adobe Illustrator
In 2023, *10%* of German restaurants shut their doors for good, highlighting a critical shortage of skilled workers that began during the pandemic. The numbers from Tagesschau.de tell a stark story:
* 2021: 1,558 missing hospitality professionals.
* 2022: A peak of 24,758 missing workers.
* 2024: 8,810 still unfilled positions – a drop that reflects fewer establishments, not fewer problems.
Unattractive working hours, dwindling tips, and ongoing closures are reshaping the future of the industry.
The working conditions are just awful.
As server its hard but the tips make it bearable in locations where tipping is common at least.
If you don’t get tips most jobs are just better. There is the argument to be made that raising compensation would lead to prices where nobody would eat out anymore but I am of the opinion that if a business can’t pay a living wage it just shouldn’t exist.
Gotta wonder what it’ll take to lure people back though… free drinks?