Number of Short-Time Workers in Germany Fell in May
In May, the number of short-time workers in Germany decreased somewhat from 2.5 (revised figure:The original ifo estimate for April was 2.7 million. The correction is due to an extensive revision on the part of the German Federal Employment Agency to its projection for the previous months.) million to 2.3 million, representing 6.8 percent of dependent employees. This is an ifo Institute estimate based on its Business Survey and on data from the German Employment Agency. The decline in short-time work was seen in nearly all industries. “In hospitality, the figure is still very high: here, 489,000 people – fully 46.1 percent of the workforce – are on short-time work,” says ifo labor market expert Sebastian Link. In retail, the number of short-time workers fell from 235,000 to 227,000, or 9.3 percent of the workforce.
“There are currently no signs that the worsening material shortages in parts of the manufacturing and construction sectors will lead to a substantial increase in short-time work,” Link adds. The proportion of short-time workers in construction grew just from 0.8 to 0.9 percent. There were only small increases in the printing industry (18.8 percent in May after 17.9 percent in April) and the automotive industry (5.4 percent in May after 5.3 percent in April).
In trade overall, including wholesale and car dealerships, the number shrank from 363,000 to 349,000, or 9.3 percent of employees. In manufacturing, the number fell from 412,000 to 371,000 people in May. This means that 5.3 percent of manufacturing employees are still on short-time work.
