Labor market
Study: Transformation is increasingly putting pressure on the labor market
The economic weakness is leading to staff cuts in companies – but not just them. Revolutionary processes are also taking hold, especially in industry.
According to employment agencies, the transformation of German industry, for example towards e-mobility in the automotive industry or towards more digitalization, is putting increasing strain on the labor market. The industry is not only in an economic crisis. Structural problems are also increasingly playing a role, according to the employment agencies in the survey, which was evaluated by the Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research (IAB).
“A critical mix of economic weakness and transformation problems is putting the labor market under pressure,” says Enzo Weber, head of the “Forecasts and Macroeconomic Analyzes” research department at the IAB.
But it is less the high-profile reports about staff cuts that are putting a strain on the labor market. “Contrary to what reports about job cuts in large companies suggest, this has not yet determined what is happening on the labor market,” says IAB researcher Christian Hutter. Rather, it is companies with up to 100 employees that are losing employees. Employment in companies of this size in the manufacturing sector – which includes industrial companies – is now 3.7 percent below the initial value for 2021.
Employment in larger companies, on the other hand, even continued to rise until mid-2024. “The key to the upswing lies in a renewal of the economy – through investments, innovations, start-ups and the scaling of new business models,” emphasizes Weber, given the structural causes and the weakness of smaller companies.
The Federal Agency surveyed 150 local employment agencies for the study.
dpa
Source: Stern
