Despite material shortages and declining orders, German industry is still hiring workers. At the end of the first half of the year at the end of June, almost 5.5 million people were employed in manufacturing companies with at least 50 employees. The number rose by 42,500 or 0.8 percent compared to the same month last year, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office. That was the sixth increase in a row. There was also an increase compared to the previous month of May, namely by 8900 employees or 0.2 percent.
The industry is sitting on bulging order books. However, due to material bottlenecks, she cannot ramp up her production as much as actually possible. In the July survey by the Munich Ifo Institute, almost three quarters of the companies complained about a lack of material – for example electronic components. The export-dependent industry could be slowed down in the future by the weakening global economy. With the USA, China and the euro zone, the three most important global economic areas could slide into recession at the same time.
The number of employees rose particularly sharply in June among manufacturers of data processing equipment, electronic and optical products. In contrast, the number of employees at manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts fell by 1.5 percent, which corresponds to the industry trend: electric cars are less complex than the combustion engines built up to now. The remuneration for industrial employees totaled almost 27 billion euros in June.