The German labour market during and after the great recession

Abstract

"Although the German economy was heavily affected by the crisis, the labour market┐s response was much more moderate than known from the past: Service sectors kept on hiring, and industries used internal adjustment strategies such as record reductions in working time and productivity instead of dismissing many workers. Moreover, the German labour market recovered from the crisis without delay. There is a multiple explanation to the moderate response and quick recovery. Since the hysteresis pattern on the German labour market was interrupted after severe reforms had been implemented in 2003 to 2005, there is evidence that positive structural reform effects overlaid the business cycle drop. Furthermore, the crisis was imported into Germany and, thus, the domestic economy was hardly affected. Finally, the fiscal program to buffer the crisis, including publicly supported short-time work, was helpful but certainly not decisive." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Klinger, S. (2011): The German labour market during and after the great recession. In: International labor brief, Vol. 9, No. 2, p. 13-25.