Continuing Lockdown Leads to Slight Increase in Short-Time Work in Germany

According to estimates by the ifo Institute, the number of employees on short-time work in Germany is likely to have risen slightly to 2.8 million in February, up from an estimated 2.7 million in January. This means that the share of short-time workers in employment subject to social security contributions is likely to be 8.5 percent (January 2021: 8.1 percent). Short-time work alone caused the volume of work of all employees subject to social insurance contributions to have been an estimated 4.8 percent lower than usual in February. The increase in short-time work was mainly attributable to those segments of the retail and service sectors of the economy affected by the lockdown. In hotels and restaurants alone, more than 600,000 employees are probably now on short-time work. In contrast, a robust industrial economy is driving a countertrend in the manufacturing sector, where short-time work decreased once again.