Short-Time Work Declining More Slowly in Germany
The number of people on short-time work is continuing to fall, but the pace of this decline has slowed. In September, there were 610,000 people left on short-time work, down from 694,000* in August and 1.07* million in July. This equates to 1.8 percent of dependent employees, compared with 2.1* percent in August and 3.2* percent in July. These figures are ifo Institute estimates based on its Business Survey and on data from the German Federal Employment Agency.
“In contrast, we’ve seen a small increase in short-time work in manufacturing, from 250,000 to 260,000 employees, or from 3.6* to 3.7 percent. The automotive and metal production industries in particular have increased short-time work, apparently in response to supply problems for intermediate products,” says ifo survey expert Stefan Sauer. The number of automotive short-time workers rose from 26,000* to 34,000, or from 2.8* percent to 3.6 percent of the workforce. In metal production, the figure rose from 3,000* to 6,000, or from 1.1* percent to 2.1 percent. In the printing industry, 6.3 percent – some 8,000 people – are now on short-time work, down from 10.0* percent.
The sharpest decline was in hospitality, where 5.5 percent or 58,000 employees are currently on short-time work, compared with the previous month’s 7.6* percent. In retail, short-time work fell from 1.0* percent to 0.9 percent, corresponding to 21,000 employees, while in wholesale it fell from 1.7* percent to 1.1 percent, or 15,000 employees.
* Revised figure.
