BERLIN (Reuters) – Low take up of a government-backed ‘Kurzarbeit’ shortened hours facility points to a “very mild” recession in Germany this winter, the Ifo economic institute said on Wednesday.
In December, the variety of employees on shortened hours eased to 186,000 from a seasonally adjusted 188,000 in November, Ifo said, citing estimates it based on data from the Federal Employment Agency.
“The proven fact that short-time work stays at a low level seems to point that the expected winter recession might be very mild,” Ifo researcher Sebastian Link said in a press release.
(Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Maria Sheahan)
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