The importance of social infrastructure for securing labour and skilled workers for small and medium-sized enterprises
Initial situation/policy problem
The shortage of labour and skilled workers is one of the key challenges for the German economy. In addition to immigration, increasing the weekly working hours of women is seen as another way of alleviating the shortage of labour and skilled workers. Compared to men, women are significantly more likely to work part-time, but they also take on the majority of childcare duties and care for relatives. The extent to which this potential for women's employment can be mobilised depends largely on social infrastructure, specifically the availability of childcare and care facilities. SMEs in particular are dependent on this infrastructure. Due to their more limited human resources, they find it more difficult than large companies to compensate for staff absences resulting, e.g., from childcare duties or acute care needs of relatives.
Research goals/approach
The aim of this project is to examine the relationship between the regional availability of childcare and nursing care services and the individual labour supply (of women) and to clarify whether and to what extent the foreseeable increase in care needs will result in a further bottleneck for companies in securing labour and skilled workers, especially for SMEs. First, a literature review will be conducted to assess the current state of research regarding the relationship between the availability of social infrastructure and individual labour supply. Data from the Federal Statistical Office, the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), and the INKAR database of the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs, and Spatial Development (BBSR) will then be evaluated and compiled in the regional database in order to examine the relationship between care and support services and labour force participation in more detail.