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Recession catches up with consumers

The recession is catching up with German consumers, causing their confidence has stagnated following three straight months of gradually growing optimism, a poll released on Monday showed.

Published: 22 December 2008 11:03 CET
Recession catches up with consumers
Photo: DPA

The outlook index from the GfK institute for Europe’s biggest economy remained at 2.1 points for January, after an initial value of 2.2 points for December was revised lower by 0.1 points.

“Reduced production, cuts in working hours and announcements of potential redundancies are increasingly leading to consumers feeling themselves to be personally affected by the crisis,” a GfK statement said.

Falling inflation and strong pay rise agreements had helped consumer sentiment resist the worsening economic situation until now, but with the labour market poised for a downturn, shoppers’ moods are growing darker. And even as it remained steady for January, the overall index was well below the 4.7 value posted in December 2007.

“All in all, the tug of war between declining inflation and rising unemployment fears keeps the consumer climate subdued well below its long-term average of around 10,” UniCredit Markets economist Alexander Koch said.

A breakdown of the poll showed that consumer’s expectations regarding their personal income had fallen sharply from the previous month, as car makers and other industrial groups announced production suspensions and the elimination of temporary posts.

“For the first time after four consecutive rises, December has seen a perceptible decline in income expectations,” GfK said, as that sub index fell 8.5 points to minus 15.4 points.

The German Economy Ministry is also more pessimistic, with a senior official saying last week that the German economy could contract by up to 3.0 percent in 2009.

Business cycle expectations, which are not taken into account in GfK’s headline index, continued their descent to minus 32.4 points, the lowest level since March 1993, Koch noted.

A slight increase was nonetheless posted by GfK’s sub index that measures consumers’ propensity to make purchases, which edged up 0.4 points, though it remained in negative territory at minus 6.3 points, well below its long term average of zero.

“The better-than-feared holiday shopping season will probably dampen but not prevent another negative quarter in private spending in the fourth quarter,” Koch said.

GfK noted that “the rate of inflation is likely to remain low and increase German consumer purchasing power.

“How the consumer climate will develop in the coming year is contingent to a great extent on the degree to which the recession impacts the job market,” it concluded.

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WORKING IN GERMANY

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Bavaria is no doubt a beautiful state with a strong economy, but can be a hard place for non-German speakers to integrate. The Local takes a look at job opportunities in Germany’s southeastern 'Free State.'

Published: 7 February 2024 10:54 CET
Updated: 10 February 2024 08:20 CET
Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions. 

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds. 

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local. 

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with. 

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