Companies active in the building cleaning trade in Germany remain pessimistic about the future.

According to a survey by the industry association, business is stagnating for around half of all companies, with a quarter even expecting a slight decline. This is not due to the poor order situation. The biggest obstacle to future growth is the lack of personnel.

A good half of the building service providers surveyed (53.9 %) lack around 10 per cent additional staff in a range of up to 10 per cent, more than a fifth actually need up to 20 per cent more and around 10 per cent of companies state that they lack staff in a range of up to 30 per cent.

The industry has always focussed on internationality and diversity in contract cleaning. Only by attracting international labour can the significant staff shortage be resolved in the medium and long term. Accordingly, the overwhelming majority of employers are open to taking on employees from abroad.