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Erfurt (dpa / th) - According to the Crafts Day, large parts of the Thuringian crafts have survived the challenges of the Corona year 2020 quite well.

"The craft performed relatively well in a very difficult year with dramatic consequences for the economy," said the managing director of the Thuringian Crafts Day, Thomas Malcherek, of the German press agency in Erfurt.

"We got away with a black eye."

However, the situation is divided.

Some trades, including all body-hugging service providers such as hairdressers, but also parts of the food trade were hit hard.

"In the affected areas there are sales losses of 20 to 30 percent," said Malcherek.

Many farms would live on the reserves that they had built in the past.

Two thirds of the businesses in the food trade reported a drop in sales.

The reason: restaurants and hotels could not be supplied for months, breakfast and snack offers as well as catering had to be temporarily suspended.

In the case of hairdressers, beauticians, podiatrists, but also tailors or textile cleaners, even three quarters of the craft businesses are talking about losses.

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"What is an additional burden: It is unclear how it will continue," said the managing director of the craft day.

There are already fears that employees who are affected by long short-time working are looking for job alternatives.

According to the managing director, most construction trades had a good year.

"Many companies had wonderfully full order books."

In the autumn, many private households also had orders for electrical, plumbing or heating work, for example.

However, it is becoming apparent that 2021 will be more difficult for the building trade.

"Almost 30 percent of the companies say that incoming orders are falling."

Fewer commercial buildings are likely to be planned because of the economic downturn.

In addition, the municipalities were reluctant to invest.

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Malcherek assumes, however, that if the industry recovers in the coming year, the building trade, as well as the metal and electrical trades, will develop steadily.

The industries that were badly affected by the consequences of the corona pandemic needed a perspective on how politicians would deal with the pandemic in 2021.

There shouldn't be a lockdown again in the fall, Malcherek said.

Crafts are an important economic factor in Thuringia with almost 30,000 companies and around 150,000 employees.

Annual sales have so far been around eleven billion euros.