Data report 2021 shows who is hit hardest by the corona crisis

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From short-time work and homeschooling to acute existential poverty and excess mortality - the corona crisis has deeply shaken the population in Germany.

The effects can be seen in almost all areas of society.

This is shown by the data report 2021, which the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) presented together with the Berlin Science Center for Social Research (WZB) and the Federal Institute for Population Research.

The first lockdown in March 2020 resulted in an unprecedented economic crash in Germany.

In the second quarter, the gross domestic product (GDP) fell by almost ten percent.

Private consumption collapsed even more sharply, with a decline of 13 percent.

Sectors particularly affected, such as restaurants and accommodation, lost almost 90 percent of their sales during the ordered closure.

Mobility also suddenly fell by a third in the spring as a result of the contact restrictions imposed.

Air traffic came to a complete standstill for months.

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The results of the Mannheim Corona Study (MCS) show how much the fight against the pandemic has changed people's lives.

Several thousand adults were surveyed regularly from March to July.

One in four worked completely in the home office at the beginning of the first lockdown.

This option was mainly open to employees with a high level of education.

After the easing in May, the proportion of those working exclusively from home fell again and was only just under six percent in the summer.

More than one in five employees - men more often than women - continued to use the home office temporarily.

It took longer for short-time working to pick up speed due to the pandemic.

While relatively few short-time workers were registered in March at 2.9 percent, the rate then reached 10.6 percent in May and remained similarly high in summer.

The development was reversed in terms of exemptions: after all, every eighth person received a short-term exemption at the beginning of the crisis, often with a considerable loss of income.

Source: WORLD infographic

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However, at that time many teachers were also released - with continuous payments.

When the extended short-time work regulation came into effect, the exemptions fell sharply in the following months.

On the other hand, unemployment rose especially among the low-skilled.

For the majority of employees, however, the world of work remained surprisingly constant despite the economic slowdown.

For almost 60 percent of employees, the first lockdown had no effect on the place of work, for them everything stayed the same between March and July and they worked on site unchanged.

At the same time, many parts of the industry were idle for weeks because the international supply chains were interrupted.

But large sectors such as most trades, health care, supermarkets or logistics ran steadily even in Corona times and usually needed their employees at work.

Source: WORLD infographic

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There were considerable gender differences in the employment trends caused by the crisis, but by no means, as has been claimed, a general disadvantage for women.

Women are only half as likely to be affected by short-time work.

For this, they were released more often during the first lockdown with a share of 15.5 percent than the men with ten percent.

And while two thirds of the women worked on site again in the summer, this only applied to every second man.

However, since women are particularly often employed in industries that are extremely affected again in the winter lockdown, such as retail, cultural sectors or the hospitality industry, they are likely to be more affected by short-time working again in the later course of the crisis than is the case in the summer months was.

Employees less affected by the Corona crisis

There are particularly many crisis victims among the self-employed, who are affected by the economic consequences of the corona to a far greater extent than the dependent employees.

Every second employee who works for their own account reported operational restrictions or a probable or already existing loss of their job during the first few months of the crisis.

And one in five had to cope with financial losses back then.

Research data refutes the thesis that income differences increased in Corona times.

This is because households in the middle and upper income groups had to cope with a decline in their income (almost 40 percent) more often than was the case at the lower end of the income scale (28 percent).

When viewed by age group, the elderly are best protected: While almost 2.3 percent of those over 70 years old had or expected a financial loss, the proportion among 50 to 59 year olds was almost six times as high and only slightly lower at the younger adults.

Younger people have the greatest risk of losing their job, especially since many students have also lost their jobs.

In addition, migrants are more likely to lose their jobs than Germans.

Overall, married couples get through the crisis better from an economic point of view than single parents, who find it particularly difficult to reconcile the homeschooling, which is often necessary at this time, and looking after their children with their job.

While every fourth single parent reported financial difficulties and risks as a result of the pandemic, this proportion was only six percent for married couples.

The researchers point out that these results are just a snapshot of the first few months of the pandemic.

In the meantime, the diverse state aid ensures the protection of large sections of the population.

Conversely, with the continuing restrictions on business activity in many sectors such as trade, tourism, culture or the event industry, subsistence worries are growing.