Short-time Working Rises to Historic High in Coronavirus Crisis

In the wake of the Coronavirus crisis, companies are resorting to large-scale short-time working arrangements. An estimate by the ifo Institute points to a massive use of short-time working, although this is likely to be declining again at the current time. In total, 7.3 million people were estimated to be on short-time working arrangements in May and 6.7 million in June. Short-time working in trade and some service sectors is likely to have already declined significantly, but in the manufacturing sector it rose again slightly in June.