Germany faces mounting jobs crisis

Germany is facing a slow-burning jobs crisis. The country’s unemployment rate fell to an all-time low of 4.9% in 2019, but has now climbed to 6%. While this is still below the eurozone average, experts say the numbers mask the reality. Germany continues to add low-paying jobs, but its massive auto industry is struggling to keep pace with the switch to electric vehicles.

High-skilled roles are in decline. Employee protection rules make it hard to lay off workers, so it can take a long time for underlying problems to show in employment data. One analyst told the Financial Times that “job cutting among German blue-chips [is at] the highest level since the financial crisis.” Another said the labor market faced “death by a thousand cuts.”