Businesses in Germany are increasingly less inclined to reduce staff. The Ifo Employment Barometer climbed to 93.4 points in January from 91.9 in December. “The slowdown in job cuts hasn’t stopped yet” said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of the Ifo surveys, on Wednesday. “The labour market in industry remains under pressure – a reversal of this trend is still out of sight”.
Across nearly all industrial sectors, companies continue to cut positions. The automotive industry and firms in the metal sector are cutting the most jobs, and retailers also plan to operate with fewer employees next year. In contrast, the services sector saw a noticeable uptick in the barometer. Positive and negative responses are roughly balanced; engineering consultancies and IT service providers are actively hiring new talent. The construction sector has largely stayed the same, with firms expecting to maintain current staffing levels.