German working-age population to shrink dramatically: study (opens in new tab)

Falling numbers of workers spell yet another challenge for Europe's struggling top economy, already battling onerous red tape, high energy costs and fierce competition in its traditional industries. "Germany is not on the brink of demographic change -- it is already in the middle of it," said Holger Schaefer from the IW economic institute in Cologne, which published the report. "In just a few years, the economy will lack the workers needed to generate prosperity and sustain the welfare state ...