Lack of workers threatens Danish recovery

Denmark's nascent economic recovery is on the verge of being cut short due to a rapid decline in unemployment levels for skilled industrial laborers, analysts here worry.

Unemployment among skilled industrial workers has fallen to 4.2 percent, a five-year low and 50 percent below the rate a year ago.

The decline comes on the back of increasing industrial output, but Dansk Metal, an industrial workers' union, and the Confederation of Danish Industry, the nation's largest business lobby, both say the rapidly shrinking pool of available labor may hinder future gains.

"There are regions of Denmark where industrial producers are finding it more difficult to find qualified employees," Allan Lyngsoe, chief economist with Dansk Metal was quoted as saying by the Danish business newspaper Boersens.

Steen Nielsen, a labor market analyst with the Confederation of Danish Industry, worried that situation was occurring during a period when the economy was still recovering.

"We're only just now seeing an upturn, and we might experience serious problems in the future if we can't capitalise on growth opportunities due to a lack of workers."

According to official data, during the first quarter of 2014, some 11,000 new jobs were created, 3,000 of which were within the industrial sector.