ifo Institute: Number of Short-Time Workers Falls to 4.6 million in Germany
The number of short-time workers in Germany fell to 4.6 million in August, down from 5.6 million in July. This is the finding of exclusive calculations and estimates by the ifo Institute based on its Business Survey. Expressed as a share of all employees subject to social insurance contributions, short-time work shrank from 17 to 14 percent. “The decline was relatively hefty in trade, hospitality, and among administrative and support services, but much less pronounced in manufacturing,” says ifo labor market expert Sebastian Link.
According to ifo’s estimates, the number of short-time workers in industry fell only slightly from 2.1 million to 1.9 million people, or from 30 percent to 27 percent of the workforce. For instance, an estimated 465,000 people in the metal industry were still on short-time work in August, compared with 509,000 in July. In other words, the share of all metal industry employees affected by short-time work decreased from 45 percent to 41 percent. In vehicle construction, the number slipped from 423,000 to 347,000, meaning the share declined from 38 percent to 31 percent. In mechanical engineering, the number fell from 378,000 to 336,000, or from 35 percent to 31 percent. In the electrical industry, 234,000 people are now on short-time work instead of July’s 271,000, representing a share of 29 percent, after 34 percent in July.
The decline in short-time work was weaker among service providers. In the hospitality industry, the number of short-time workers fell from 465,000 to 377,000, or 34 percent of the sector’s total workforce. July’s figure amounted to 42 percent. The number of short-time workers in transportation and storage held steady at 256,000, or 14 percent. In administrative and support service activities, the number decreased from 603,000 to 457,000, or from 26 percent to 20 percent.
Once again, the number of short-time workers in trade plunged sharply, from 637,000 to 414,000. In retail, the number shrank from 240,000 to 104,000 – a decrease from 10 percent to 4 percent. In wholesale, the number fell from 257,000 to 210,000, or from 18 percent to 15 percent. In automotive trade, there were 100,000 short-time workers in August after 140,000 in July, which equates to a fall from 21 percent to 15 percent.
