ifo Employment Barometer Falls (May 2023)

The willingness among companies in Germany to hire new staff has declined. The ifo Employment Barometer fell to 98.3 points in May, down from 100.2 points in April. “Fewer new orders and rising uncertainty are causing restraint among companies,” says Klaus Wohlrabe, Head of Surveys at ifo. “Caution is also on the rise in the service sector, which until recently had been more positively inclined.”

The situation in manufacturing has barely changed. At the moment, plans for layoffs and hires balance each other out. This is also true of the construction sector. In the service sector, the employment barometer took a substantial hit. While hiring is set to continue in IT, real estate companies are considering layoffs. In trade, the willingness to hire fell to its lowest level since March 2021. More and more employers in this sector expect to make do with fewer staff due to the more difficult business situation.