I seriously doubt the claim that companies held onto workers during the economic downturn, Why are there companies complaining about staff shortages (eg: Deutsche Bahn, Airport staff etc) if they retained their staff?
Well paying jobs that are easy to do have no shortages, in fact, you never see them advertised as they are usually quickly filled via internal hires or direct referrals.
For example, entry level salary for software developers is virtually the same as 10 years ago despite the crazy increase in cost of living.
Most importantly, companies aren't used to the employment market being a seller's market, so they're not willing to pay competitive rates for new hires.
As result, no one's willing to do 3 years badly paid training (Ausbildung) just to earn below-average wage in a dead-end job.
Even the Syrian refugees who came here in 2015-2016 are already looking for new jobs elsewhere. Most of the people in my surroundings who aren't following mainstream media anymore have either moved to other countries or are planning to do so.
Germany is done. Looks like the US is finally getting their Morgentau.