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BERLIN (Reuters) - When Abdul Kader Tizini graduated with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from RWTH Aachen, one of Germany’s top technical universities, he thought it would be a matter of weeks before he landed his dream job.
Syrian Abdul Kader Tizini who graduated with a master s degree in mechanical engineering from RWTH Aachen, poses in front of a stone wall at the campus of the university in Aachen, Germany, February 3, 2021. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
Just over a month later the coronavirus spread to Germany, stopping a decade-long employment boom in its tracks.
Now, some 800 job applications and 80 interviews later, the 29-year-old Syrian is still in search of work.
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BERLIN (Reuters) - German business morale slumped to a six-month low in January as a second wave of COVID-19 halted a recovery in Europe’s largest economy, which will stagnate in the first quarter, the Ifo economic institute said on Monday.
FILE PHOTO: The skyline with its financial district is photographed during sunset as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Frankfurt, Germany, October 26, 2020, REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
Ifo said its business climate index fell to 90.1 from an upwardly revised reading of 92.2 in December. A Reuters poll had forecast a January reading of 91.8.
“The second Corona wave has temporarily ended the recovery of the German economy,” Ifo President Clemens Fuest said in a statement.
Germany’s stricter lockdown sinks retail sales in December
German retail sales plunged more than expected in December as a decision to tighten lockdowns to curb the spread of COVID-19 choked consumer spending in Europe’s largest economy at the end of the year, data showed on Monday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and state premiers closed most shops and services from mid-December after a partial lockdown for bars, restaurants and entertainment venues introduced in early November failed to push down infections.
The stricter lockdown, which included schools and kindergartens but excluded factories and offices, has been extended until mid-February.
The Federal Statistics Office said retail sales fell by an unprecedented 9.6% on the month in real terms after a downwardly revised increase of 1.1% in November.