Economy: Ifo: Short-time work in industry is increasing

There is an increasing number of short-time workers in German industry. The number of companies reporting current short-time workers was 14.3 percent in a survey conducted by the Munich-based Ifo Institute in August. In May, the figure was only 12.5 percent. At the same time, 23 percent of companies said they expected short-time workers in the next three months. In May, the figure was just under 19 percent.

Compared to long-term trends, short-time work has increased slightly, said the Ifo. The current increase is comparatively small given the poor economic situation. “However, this is not a positive sign,” stresses Ifo expert Sebastian Link. “Rather, it shows that many affected companies see the crisis as very serious. Therefore, despite the labor shortage, they seem to be more likely to cut jobs or relocate locations rather than bridge the gap with short-time work.”

Furniture manufacturers were particularly likely to report short-time work. Their figure was 29.2 percent. This was followed by metal production with 27.7 percent and the manufacture of electrical equipment with 23.1 percent. In mechanical engineering and the automotive industry, 19.8 and 19.3 percent of companies reported short-time work, respectively. In the chemical industry, on the other hand, no significant short-time work was reported.

The proportion of employees on short-time work is significantly lower. Even a company in which only a small part of the workforce is on short-time work is considered to be a company with short-time work for the purposes of the survey. The most recent figures from the Federal Employment Agency on the number of employees on short-time work refer to June. At that time, according to preliminary calculations, 232,000 employees – across all sectors – were paid short-time work benefits.