A Massive Drop in Short-Time Work in Germany
In April, the number of short-time workers in Germany took a massive drop: 426,000 people were on short-time work, down from 696,000* in March. This corresponds to 1.3 percent of the workforce, down from 2.1 percent*. These figures are ifo Institute estimates based on its surveys as well as on data from the German Federal Employment Agency. “The most significant declines were again in the contact-intensive industries, which are still recovering from the pandemic,” says ifo expert Stefan Sauer. “In the hospitality industry, the number fell by more than half, while there was also a significant decline in the transport sector. And numbers decreased even in manufacturing, despite the supply shortages.”
In hospitality, the number of short-time workers shrank from 196,000* to 90,000, or from 18.4* percent to 8.5 percent of the workforce. In retail, the figure decreased similarly from 44,000* to 35,000, or from 1.8* percent to 1.4 percent. Manufacturing reduced its number of short time workers from 179,000* to 135,000 (1.9 percent), and in the automotive sector, the number of short-time workers fell from 59,000* to 41,000 (4.4 percent).
Before the pandemic, the number of short-time workers was 134,000 in February 2020; it then jumped to 2.6 million in March and reached a record 6 million in April 2020. The previous peak during the global financial and economic crisis was 1.5 million short-time workers in spring 2009.
*Figures adjusted
