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Kiel (dpa) - In view of the renewed corona pandemic, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) has lowered its forecast for German economic growth in the coming year.

"The second wave of the corona pandemic deals a noticeable blow to the German economy, but does not overturn it," says an economic forecast published on Thursday in Kiel.

The recovery will be interrupted for half a year, but will then come back vigorously.

According to the IfW, gross domestic product (GDP) will only grow by 3.1 percent in 2021.

So far, 4.8 percent had been assumed.

For the current year, economic output is expected to decline by 5.2 percent.

So far, a minus of 5.5 percent had been forecast.

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The IfW refers to the new restrictions imposed since November to combat the pandemic.

Therefore, economic output is likely to shrink in the fourth quarter of 2020.

"This is a setback for the overall economic recovery process, but not a relapse into a crisis like last spring," said Stefan Kooths, Economic Director of IfW Kiel.

Consumption-related sectors would again be burdened.

“But the industry will not come under the wheels again - mainly thanks to an overall robust international business,” Kooths expects.

The industry is benefiting from the recovery in the global economy and, above all, from growth in China.

According to the IfW, the recovery on the labor market will be delayed in view of the weaker economic development.

Therefore, the unemployment rate is likely to rise to 6.1 percent on average in 2021.

It would thus be slightly above the previous year's figure of 5.9 percent.

An estimated 860,000 jobs had been lost through the crisis by October.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201217-99-728886 / 2