ifo Employment Barometer Remains Stable (August 2022)
German companies’ willingness to hire has fallen marginally. The ifo Employment Barometer fell to 101.0 points in August, down from 101.1 points in July. Nevertheless, companies in Germany are still planning to increase headcount despite many uncertainties. At the same time, however, the shortage of skilled workers is making it difficult to fill many vacancies.
In manufacturing, the Employment Barometer fell for the third consecutive month. The willingness to hire is now only slightly positive. In the service sector, the indicator recovered somewhat from the sharp decline in July. While the IT industry is constantly looking for new employees, the hospitality industry would like to keep the number of employees unchanged for now. In trade, declining customer numbers and increased costs are slowly being reflected in personnel planning. An initial round of layoffs is coming. In construction, there are some isolated reports that new hires are in the pipeline.
