For the first time the Federal Statistical Office calculated a so-called real wage index for the first quarter 2009 which compares the development of wages and prices. Thus, the index reflects the development of purchasing power bound to wages and salaries. This index fell by 0.4 % in the first quarter as compared to the first quarter last year. The drop in real wages and salaries is mainly due to a weak increase in salaries and wages (+0.4 %), according to the Federal Statistical Office. more…

There are two major issues which absorb the attention of participants of the “Intelligenter Produzieren – Renaissance der industriellen Produktion” congress organized by the German Association for Mechanical and Plant Engineering (VDMA) which comes to an end today. These two major topics in question are research budgets and the recession. In the opinion of the VDMA president, Dr. Ing. Manfred Wittenstein, research budgets in Germany are completely inadequate, if Germany wants to remain the world’s most attractive industrial site in future. A lively discussion on the current recession was also led and fed by findings of a recent survey carried out by the VDMA. more…

In a list of 18 industrialized countries Germany comes just in 17th position with regard to the number of business founders in proportion to the overall population. Only 1.4 % of people aged between 18 and 64 are currently setting up a new business in Germany. Another 2.4 % set up their own business in the past three and a half years. The least active in this respect are people in Belgium and those most active people in the USA. This is the finding of a joint study by the IAB institute and the Leipniz University in Hannover. more…

According to the “VDI/IW-Ingenieurmonitor” report compiled jointly by the Association of German Engineers (VDI) and the Institute for the German Economy in Cologne (IW), there were 60.000 vacancies for engineers in May this year. At the same time the number of unemployed engineers increased slightly to more than 25,000. This means that there is currently a shortage of about 36,000 engineers in Germany. According to the VDI, the German economy misses out on orders due to this lack of engineers. Most engineer vacancies in May this year were to be found in the field of mechanical engineering and motor vehicle construction. more…

In April this year turnover generated in the German hotel and restaurant industry was down by 4.7% (nominally) and 7.0% in real figures as compared to April last year. On March this year turnover fell by 1.2% and 1.3% respectively (after adjustments for calendar and season). In the period from January to April this year turnover generated in the German hotel and restaurant industry dropped by on average 4.8 % and 7.0 % respectively each month. more…

In contrast to what is often believed Germans are quite optimistic, in particular the younger generation. According to the association for research on consumption (GfK), one in three Germans believe that the economy will gain momentum again in the middle of the year 2010. About 10% are even more optimistic and think that recovery might come earlier. more…

In the first quarter of 2009 employment was down by 0.8% in both the Eurozone (EZ16) and the EU27 as compared to the fourth quarter in 2008. In absolute figures this decline corresponded to 1.22 million people in the Eurozone and to 1.92 million in the EU27. In the fourth quarter of 2008 the respective changes on the previous quarter had been -0.4 % in the Eurozone and -0.3 % in the EU27 (adjusted for season). In comparison with the first quarter of 2008 employment in both the Eurozone and the EU27 fell by 1.2 %. For the time being, the above figures by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) are provisional. more…

In businesses of the German processing industry which employ at least 50 people job cutting continues. At the end of April these businesses employed 5.1 million people which is 86,000 or 1.7% less than in April last year. Most affected were manufacturers of rubber and synthetic materials. In mechanical engineering, on the other hand, the number of employees remained almost unchanged. more…

Output of industry is still falling in Europe. In April this year industrial production fell by 1.9% on March in the Eurozone (EZ16) and by 0.9% in the EU27. In March the respective drops on February had been 1.4 % and 1.3 %. As compared to April last year output fell by 21.6 % in the Eurozone and by 19.4 % in the EU27. For the time being, these figures are estimates by the European Statistical Office Eurostat. more…

In May this year the index of wholesale trade selling prices was down by 8.9% on May 2008. This was the sharpest year-to-year drop since December 1986, according to the Federal Statistical Office. In April and May 2009 prices had dropped by 8.1 % and 8.0 % respectively. From April to May this year wholesale trade prices increased slightly by 0.1 %. more…