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Unemployment: Can Germany weather the coronavirus crisis without mass layoffs?

Unemployment in Germany only inched up in June, official data showed Wednesday, as Europe's top economy has weathered the coronavirus storm so far without an extreme amount of job losses.

Published: 1 July 2020 10:17 CEST

Unemployment: Can Germany weather the coronavirus crisis without mass layoffs?

Archive photo shows the Agentur für Arbeit (job centre) in Schmalkalden, Thuringia. Photo: DPA

The unemployment rate added just 0.1 percentage point compared with May, reaching 6.4 percent, seasonally-adjusted figures from the BA federal labour agency showed.

Before the pandemic reached Germany in March, the rate had hovered around 5.0 percent since late 2018 as the country basked in the end of a post-financial crisis boom.

In absolute terms, less representative of underlying trends but more closely followed in public debate, the number of people out of work rose by 40,000 month-on-month, to over 2.8 million.

That was almost 640,000 more than a year ago.

“The labour market remains under pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic” although “massive use of shorter hours schemes have stabilised” employment, BA chief Detlef Scheele said in a statement.

READ ALSO: German firms apply for Kurzarbeit for nearly 12 million workers during coronavirus pandemic

Germany's shorter hours scheme known as Kurzarbeit, in which the government tops up workers' wages when their shifts are pruned back, was credited with saving many jobs in 2008-09 and has been widely copied since.

After a surge to 10.6 million in March and April combined, the number of new workers covered by shorter hours applications fell to 1.1 million in May and just 340,000 in June, BA said.

New data showed that payments actually flowed to 2.5 million workers in March and 6.8 million in April, the authority added.

“The numbers resorting to shorter hours were far higher than those at the time of the Great Recession” of 2008-09, the BA said.

The IMK think tank has forecast three million unemployed by the end of the year compared with 2.3 million on average in 2019.

If that prediction comes true, “one cannot speak of mass unemployment” resulting from the pandemic, weekly Die Zeit commented ahead of Wednesday's data release.

“It shouldn't be ruled out that in the end, Germany will – yet again – escape with only a black eye,” Zeit added.

READ ALSO: How to apply for Kurzarbeit in Germany when working hours are reduced

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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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