The number of short-time workers in Germany is currently falling significantly every month - despite all the easing, it is still quite high in historical comparison.
In July, just over a million people in Germany were on short-time work, according to an estimate published on Thursday by the Munich Ifo Institute.
For comparison: At the height of the global economic and financial crisis in 2009, there were more than 1.4 million short-time workers in this country.
Britta Beeger
Editor in business.
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Short-time working is currently falling particularly sharply in industries that have been severely affected by the Corona restrictions, such as the hospitality and retail sectors.
Nevertheless, despite reports of a shortage of staff, the hospitality industry continues to have by far the largest proportion of short-time workers: According to the Ifo data, which is based on a monthly economic survey of around 9,000 companies, there were still 183,000 in July, which is slightly more than one in six Employees.
"Massive losses"
In this industry in particular, many companies are still struggling with hygiene requirements and are therefore not yet able to work at full capacity, said Ifo researcher Stefan Sauer. Ingrid Hartges, general manager of the hotel and restaurant association Dehoga, also confirms that the industry is only slowly recovering from the consequences of the pandemic. In holiday regions, hotels and restaurants reported good demand, but the situation in the cities is still tense. “Unfortunately, city and conference hotels and event catering continue to suffer massive losses. Big events, trade fairs and congresses are not yet taking place, international tourists are missing. ”The location of the clubs and discos is also dramatic.
The picture is somewhat different in industry. Here - as in the construction industry - the great shortage of materials and semiconductors has been making itself felt for several months, so that the number of short-time workers has even risen again: to 249,000 after 214,000 in June, which is what is proposed is mainly due to a strong increase in the auto industry. The Federal Employment Agency is also registering more advertisements from car manufacturers and suppliers.
The number of short-time workers from industry is also relatively significant because the industry is so large, according to Enzo Weber from the Institute for Employment Research. In percentage terms, the situation is not dramatic. In fact, 3.6 percent of industrial workers were recently on short-time work. After the recession in 2009, it was still a third a year after the height of the crisis, according to Weber. In comparison, the current development is not worrying.