Germany is sitting on a veritable treasure trove of untapped labour potential. The greatest lever for releasing this potential lies in increasing the number of working hours per capita and not in increasing the number of people in employment. There are still large reserves in the labour force participation of the over 50 to 70-year-olds and immigrants living in Germany. There is also a great deal of potential among women working part-time without children to look after. This was determined by the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IAW) on behalf of the Family Business Foundation in a simulation calculation.
Gross domestic product (GDP) continued to decline in Baden-Württemberg in the third quarter of 2024. According to the latest nowcast from the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IAW) and the University of Hohenheim, GDP - adjusted for seasonal and working day effects - fell by 0.2% in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the second quarter. If the results of the nowcast are confirmed, this would be the fifth quarter in a row with negative economic growth. No fundamental change in the trend is discernible for the two subsequent quarters either.
Of the 125,000 Ukrainians seeking protection in Baden-Württemberg (as of the end of 2023), around one in five people (22 percent) of working age are now in employment. Around four out of five Ukrainian employees are subject to social security contributions, although the proportion of women is slightly lower than that of men. On average, 10 percent of all companies in Baden-Württemberg report contact with a person who has fled from Ukraine (previous year: 7 percent). Around 40 percent of companies with at least one contact request reported a subsequent employment relationship (previous year: 29 percent). Companies with vacancies are four times more likely to employ Ukrainian refugees than companies without vacancies. In particular, companies with vacancies that require a low level of qualification are more likely to employ a refugee from Ukraine.
October 2, 2024: 5th annual conference of the Better Regulation and Bureaucracy Reduction Network in Tübingen
The fifth annual conference of the Better Regulation and Bureaucracy Reduction Network will address the question of how bureaucracy reduction can be handled more effectively and efficiently through a stronger focus on evidence-based policy and public administration.
Where does all the undeclared work come from? Business podcast by ZEIT and ZEIT ONLINE
Hosts Carla Neuhaus and Jens Tönnesmann discuss with Bernhard Boockmann, who has been researching the damage caused by undeclared work at the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IAW) for 15 years. In the podcast, the economist explains why he expects a further increase this year and how politicians could better curb illegal employment.
Interview: How to retain skilled workers from abroad? - DEKRA Academy Stuttgart
When individuals leave the company, it is usually for reasons that employers can do little about. Sometimes these are personal reasons, such as homesickness or the partner who has moved on finds a job in another region, sometimes they move to areas with better earning opportunities, such as from the skilled trades to industry.
In other areas, many international workers return to their home country or move on to other countries. Prof. Dr. Bernhard Boockmann was commissioned by the Federal Employment Agency to survey skilled workers who have left Germany again. “A large proportion of emigration is due to labor market-related reasons, such as the loss of a job or - in the case of international students - the end of their education. There are also family reasons and often economic reasons, such as high rents. A small proportion of emigrants also cited experiences of discrimination as a reason. For most of them, several of the reasons mentioned apply,” he summarizes.
