ifo Institute: Bavaria Has the Most Short-Time Workers

Bavaria is the German federal state with the largest share of short-time workers, according to exclusive figures from the ifo Institute. The ifo survey reveals that approximately 14 percent of employees subject to social insurance contributions were on short-time work there in September; the figure for August was 18 percent (revised figure for August). This corresponds to a drop from one million (revised figure for August) to 825,000 people. “Short-time work is most prevalent in Länder with a lot of metal processing, mechanical engineering, and car manufacturers and suppliers,” says ifo labor market expert Sebastian Link.

In Baden-Württemberg, 610,000 people were on short-time work, which equates to 13 percent of employees subject to social insurance contributions. In August, this figure stood at 773,000* people, or 16 percent. The September survey shows that North Rhine-Westphalia had the next-highest share of short-time workers with 11 percent or 784,000 people, followed by Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, with a combined 11 percent or 193,000 employees, meaning each is in line with Germany’s national average.

Below-average figures for short-time work were recorded in Lower Saxony and Bremen with 10 percent (327,000), in Hesse with 10 percent (271,000), and in Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg with 10 percent (195,000). They were followed by Berlin, Brandenburg, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with 9 percent (266,000), Saxony with 8 percent (137,000), and Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia with 8 percent (122,000).