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Job market remains resilient despite crisis

The German labour market remains surprisingly resilient to the eurozone debt crisis, with unemployment in Europe's top economy falling to a four-month low adjusted for seasonal effects, data showed on Thursday.

Job market remains resilient despite crisis
Photo: DPA

On the face of it, headline unemployment rose sharply in January, with the jobless rate jumping to 7.4 percent in raw or unadjusted terms from 6.7 percent in December, according to monthly data compiled by the Federal Labour Office.

And the unadjusted jobless total was up by more than 298,000 to 3.138 million, its highest level since March 2011.

But the increase was solely due to seasonal factors, such as the cold winter weather, and the underlying trend was positive, agency chief Frank-Jürgen Weise insisted.

“The unfavourable economic conditions haven’t left much of a mark on the labour market. The latest rise in unemployment is purely due to seasonal factors,” Weise said.

The seasonally-adjusted jobless rate — which irons out seasonal fluctuations — slipped to 6.8 percent from 6.9 percent. Unemployment in Germany has never been lower than 6.8 percent since reunification in 1990 and the rate was stable at that level for most of last year.

In concrete terms, the jobless total fell by 16,000 to 2.916 million — its lowest level in four months — on a seasonally-adjusted basis, much better than analysts’ forecasts for an increase of as many as 10,000.

“The labour market is in fundamentally good shape and is reacting robustly to the difficult economic environment,” Weise said.

Economy Minister Philipp Rösler agreed.

“All the indications are that the economic environment will continue to gradually brighten. The more positive sentiment indicators confirm this,” he said.

“The German economy should have put its current dip in growth behind it by the spring and continue to pick up during the rest of the year,” Rösler said.

Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by about 0.5 percent at the end of last year, but is widely expected to start growing again in the first quarter of 2013, enabling Germany to skirt a recession, which is technically defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction.

Among a raft of recent forward-looking indicators, the ZEW, Ifo and GfK indices are all pointing upwards.

Commerzbank economist Eckart Tuchtfeld said “the labour market seems to be coping better with the cyclical setback in the second half of last year than recently assumed.”

For IHS Global Insight analyst Timo Klein, it was “remarkable that despite GDP growth apparently being negative once again in late 2012, joblessness returned to a downward tendency in early 2013.”

“Overall, labour market conditions continue to be much healthier in Germany than in most other countries in Europe, and the dampening effect of the eurozone debt crisis that had left its mark during 2012 appears to be petering out now,” Klein said.

Natixis economist Constantin Wirschke said the excellent January data were unlikely to be repeated.

“We expect unemployment to rise slightly in the next couple of months and to stabilise thereafter. For the whole of 2013, we’re predicting that the unemployment rate will hover near the historically low level currently seen in Germany,” he said.

ING Belgium economist Carsten Brzeski noted that joblessness varied from sector to sector. In the export industries, for example, unemployment has started to increase as companies revise down their recruitment plans significantly.

“At the same time, companies operating in domestic sectors, such as the construction sector and health services, still have a strong demand for labour,” he said.

This effect could be magnified in the coming months. But “on balance… it looks as if total unemployment should remain relatively stable throughout 2013,” he said.

“Today’s numbers confirm that the German job miracle has lost some of its magic. However, even without being miraculous, the labour market should remain growth-supportive,” he concluded.

AFP/mry

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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.'

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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