More toil, less trouble

THE median age for Germans and Italians is now 46. Contrast that with youthful America (38), energetic India (27) or baby-faced Ethiopia (just 19; see ). As western Europe ages, employers of all stripes are fretting about labour shortages.Germany alone has an estimated 173,000 unfilled jobs for people with maths and computer skills, a shortfall that will nearly quadruple by 2020. Sweden’s government lists dozens of professions, from midwives to physicists, where the lack of skilled workers is acute. Automation can fill some gaps; migrants from the eastern or southern fringes of the European Union can help. But Europe’s labour markets are rigid: workers do not flow to where they are needed (see ).