German health care workforce growth slows down, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). By the end of 2023, approximately 6.1 million people were working in the health sector, an increase of 27,000 or 0.5% compared to the previous year. This growth is lower than the 5.3% increase between 2019 and 2023, and the 6.9% growth in the period before the pandemic, between 2015 and 2019.
The number of full-time equivalent employees, a measure of the workforce, showed a similar trend, with a 4.4% increase between 2019 and 2023, but a 6.3% increase in the period between 2015 and 2019.
The Destatis report also broke down the workforce into ambulatory and inpatient care settings. Ambulatory care includes doctor and dentist offices, pharmacies, and other medical facilities, as well as home care services. By the end of 2023, there were 2.5 million people and 1.6 million full-time equivalent employees working in these settings, a 4.3% and 3% increase, respectively, compared to the previous year. This is a slower growth rate than the 7.4% and 6.7% increases between 2015 and 2019.
Inpatient care, which includes hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and nursing homes, saw a 5.9% and 4.7% increase in the number of people and full-time equivalent employees, respectively, between 2019 and 2023, but a 7.5% increase in both measures between 2015 and 2019.
In contrast, the pharmaceutical industry and health protection services saw a stronger growth in the workforce, with a 9.9% and 9.3% increase in the number of people and full-time equivalent employees, respectively, in the pharmaceutical industry, and a 16.9% and 17.6% increase in the number of people and full-time equivalent employees, respectively, in health protection services, between 2019 and 2023.