The number of working people is increasing in Germany – although many of them work part-time. This also increases the total number of hours worked.
Thanks to working women, non-self-employed people in Germany worked more last year than at any time since reunification. However, this work was also carried out by more people overall than before, according to a study by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) and the Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research, which was published on Wednesday. The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” had previously reported.
The weekly working hours per employee have fallen continuously over the past decades. The work volume of dependent employees was 55 billion hours in 2023. In the year after reunification in 1991 there were still 52 billion hours. However, if the volume of self-employed people were taken into account, this would not be a record figure. In its working time calculation, the Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research assumes a total volume of 61 billion hours.
Study author Mattis Beckmannshagen attributes the increase primarily to an increase in employment among women – half of whom work part-time, although many of them would like to work more.
Tax-free overtime is not effective
“Their potential for the labor market remains partially unused,” emphasized the study author. Men, on the other hand, have deficits in child care and household tasks, which are still predominantly taken on by women. Beckmannshagen and his co-authors come to the conclusion that tax-free overtime is not effective in increasing the volume of work. There is a risk that the role relationship between men and women will be cemented.
In its working time calculation, the Nuremberg Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research (IAB) came to the conclusion that in 2023 there would be less work per capita than ever before in Germany – with the exception of the Corona period. Working hours per employed person fell to 1,342 hours – 0.3 percent less than the year before. With an average of 15.2 working days, employees were on sick leave for longer than ever before.
At 42.05 million people, 0.9 percent more people were employed than in the previous year. At 39.0 percent, the part-time rate was also higher than in previous years. According to the IAB, the number of paid overtime hours fell to 13.2 despite the acute labor shortage – the lowest number since 2016.
Source: Stern
