In the Corona crisis, short-time work in Germany exploded - with very positive consequences for the labor market. While in the USA millions and millions of people lost their jobs within a short period of time, job cuts in this country have so far been limited.
Berlin (dpa) - The demands for a significant extension of the short-time work allowance received prominent support from the federal government. "I want to extend the duration of the short-time work allowance to 24 months," said Vice Chancellor and Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) of "Bild am Sonntag".
The corona crisis won't suddenly go away in the next few weeks. "Companies and employees need a clear signal from the government: We are going with you all the way through the crisis so that no one is laid off without an emergency."
The unprecedented corona recession is leading to an unprecedented level of short-time work in Germany. According to the latest official figures from the Federal Employment Agency, the number of people on short-time work rose to 6.7 (April: 6.1) million in May. For comparison: The previous peak value before the Corona crisis comes from May 2009, when 1.44 million people were on short-time work during the recession due to the global financial crisis.
The instrument of short-time work is one of the decisive stabilizers for the labor market in an economic crisis situation. It prevents mass layoffs on a broad front and helps companies to keep their qualified workforce together so that they can get started again after the crisis. In this way - unlike in the USA - not tens of millions of people have plunged into unemployment in Germany so far.
Basically, there is currently a maximum period of twelve months for short-time work benefits. When the corona crisis arose, however, the access conditions for companies had been eased. In certain cases, the duration of the benefits can already be extended to up to 21 months. In June, the economic ministers of the federal states had already spoken out in favor of extending the short-time working allowance to 24 months.
The short-time work allowance is usually 60 percent of the missing net wage - 67 percent for parents with children. But from the fourth month onwards there is 70/77 percent, from the seventh month 80/87 percent. Social security contributions are fully reimbursed by the Federal Employment Agency.
The President of the Federal Association of German Employers' Associations (BDA), Ingo Kramer, said last week: "Short-time work keeps the workforce together for the upswing, so it should be specifically extended where it helps."
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Ministry of short-time work allowance
Federal Employment Agency on short-time work