(Bloomberg) Investors grew more confident in Germany’s recovery after the economy probably avoided a double-dip recession.
ZEW’s gauge of expectations for the next six months rose to 61.8 in January from 55.
Chancellor Angela Merkel extended and tightened coronavirus restrictions, intensifying Germany’s efforts to check the disease as deaths rose by the most since the pandemic began.
Chancellor Angela Merkel extended and tightened Germany’s coronavirus restrictions and warned that it might impose border controls without coordinated efforts to guard against risks posed by new strains.
Massive rise in unemployment in Germany during the pandemic
On January 5, the German Federal Employment Agency published the official unemployment figures for December 2020, reporting an increase to 2.7 million unemployed, 480,000 more than in the same month last year. This corresponds to an increase of 21.6 percent. The unemployment rate thus increased from 4.9 to 5.9 percent within a single year.
These official figures reflect only part of the reality. For example, 3,543,000 people were “underemployed” in December 2020, 363,000 more than in December 2019. Those considered underemployed are the unemployed and jobseekers who are temporarily participating in Federal Employment Agency measures, are sick, over 58 years old, or are considered difficult to place and are therefore not included in the official statistics by the employment offices. Also included are people who only have a part-time job but would like to work more or full-time hours.