In view of the war in Ukraine and the sharp rise in inflation, more workers in Germany are very concerned about their own economic situation than at any time during the Corona crisis.
Currently, around a quarter of all employed and job-seekers perceive their own financial situation as "extremely" or "very" stressful (24 percent) and have great concerns about their own economic future (26 percent), according to a survey by the union-affiliated Hans Böckler foundation revealed.
More than half of those in work with a low household income of less than 1,300 euros net per month said they were very worried about their economic situation.
In the next higher income group between 1301 and 2000 euros net it was almost 40 percent, as the foundation announced on Friday.
The burden of rising prices is therefore very widespread among low-income earners (79 percent).
But even in middle-income groups, 54 to 59 percent of respondents are very worried about inflation.
"Many respondents have no confidence that the burdens of the Ukraine crisis will be shared fairly and do not feel that they are being adequately supported," the survey also revealed, said Bettina Kohlrausch, scientific director of the Institute for Economic and Social Sciences (WSI). the Böckler Foundation.
This also weakens their trust in the federal government and democratic institutions as a whole.
Social justice for severely affected people demanded
It is “urgently necessary, in the upcoming distribution disputes, to keep a special eye on those who have already suffered severely financially from the corona pandemic,” demanded Kohlrausch.
This is not just a question of social justice for the groups affected, but also of stabilizing society as a whole.
For the survey, 6,234 employed and jobseekers were asked online at the end of April about their living situation during the pandemic.
The same people had previously been interviewed in April, June and November 2020 and in January, July and October 2021 and January 2022.