German has overtaken French as the language most sought-after by employers, new research from jobs site Indeed has found.
Chinese has jumped from the fifth to the third most popular language for companies seeking employees, with a 35% rise in jobs that require speakers of the language since 2016.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Independent says fewer European Union nationals looking for work in the UK amid Brexit uncertainty, coupled with a drop in language learning in schools, was leading to a “worsening language shortfall”.
“Compounding the dearth of foreign language speakers are Office of National Statistics figures which say net migration from the EU is at its lowest in a decade”, the Daily Mail reports.
Bill Richards, UK managing director of Indeed says: “Many UK employers who require multilingual staff are becoming increasingly unsettled as a perfect storm brews - fewer linguists are emerging from our education system just as Brexit uncertainty looks to be deterring workers relocating here from the EU”.
Generally, demand for linguists has risen by 2.7% since 2016 among employers, despite fewer pupils taking foreign language GCSEs and A levels.
The Times says German “has fared particularly badly amid the language crisis”, with many schools dropping it at A level and some at GCSE.
“More teenagers now take Chinese than German A level” notes the paper.
-
Critics' choice: Outstanding new Japanese restaurantsFeature An all-women sushi team, a 15-seat listening bar, and more
-
Why do Dana White and Donald Trump keep pushing for a White House UFC match?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The president and the sports mogul each have their own reasons for wanting a White House spectacle
-
'Quiet vacationing': a secret revolt against workplace cultureThe explainer You can be in two places at once
-
Labour shortages: the ‘most urgent problem’ facing the UK economy right nowSpeed Read Britain is currently in the grip of an ‘employment crisis’
-
Will the energy war hurt Europe more than Russia?Speed Read European Commission proposes a total ban on Russian oil
-
Will Elon Musk manage to take over Twitter?Speed Read The world’s richest man has launched a hostile takeover bid worth $43bn
-
Shoppers urged not to buy into dodgy Black Friday dealsSpeed Read Consumer watchdog says better prices can be had on most of the so-called bargain offers
-
Ryanair: readying for departure from LondonSpeed Read Plans to delist Ryanair from the London Stock Exchange could spell ‘another blow’ to the ‘dwindling’ London market
-
Out of fashion: Asos ‘curse’ has struck againSpeed Read Share price tumbles following the departure of CEO Nick Beighton
-
Universal Music’s blockbuster listing: don’t stop me now…Speed Read Investors are betting heavily that the ‘boom in music streaming’, which has transformed Universal’s fortunes, ‘still has a long way to go’
-
EasyJet/Wizz: battle for air supremacySpeed Read ‘Wizz’s cheeky takeover bid will have come as a blow to the corporate ego’
