According to the Ifo economic institute, limits on Coronavirus in hospitality and retail drove increased the number of Staff placed on limited working time in employment protection programs in December.
According to Ifo's monthly business sentiment study, the number of staff on short-term labor programs, commonly known as Kurzarbeit, increased by over a quarter to 879,000 from 712,000 in November.
According to Ifo researcher Sebastian Link, "the increase in coronavirus infections boosted short-time work in the hotel and retail sectors in particular."
High infection rates during the fourth coronavirus wave in Germany, triggered by the Delta variant, resulted in restrictions for retailers and service providers in December.
12 Jan 2022
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