We therefore have to go to even greater lengths to integrate them more tightly into the economic process. The fact that employment in Germany has reached a new all-time high is due not only to greater labour force participation but also to immigration.
A systematic approach to attract skilled labour from abroad, whose expertise is needed here, would represent a major contribution to helping cushion the impact of an ageing society on the labour market. Yet it is just as important not to surrender any of the progress that has already been achieved on the labour market.