Fra IFO
ifo Employment Barometer Falls (December 2019)
German companies are somewhat more reluctant to look for employees. The ifo Employment Barometer fell to 98.9 points in December after measuring 99.5 points in November. Nevertheless, the upswing in the labor market will continue, albeit that momentum is likely to be less strong in 2020 than it was in 2019.
Developments in different industries took one of two paths. While the Employment Barometer fell in industry and in the service sector, it rose in the trade and construction sectors. In industry, the number of employees continues to fall. Employment continues to grow among service providers, although to a lesser degree than was recently the case. The logistics and IT sectors are key drivers here. In construction, the order situation remains positive, resulting in continued employment growth. However, momentum in trade is rather weak.
ifo Employment Barometer Germany
(Index, 2015 = 100, seasonally adjusted)
| 12/18 | 01/19 | 02/19 | 03/19 | 04/19 | 05/19 | 06/19 | 07/19 | 08/19 | 09/19 | 10/19 | 11/19 | 12/19 | |
| Barometer | 104.1 | 103.0 | 102.8 | 101.5 | 101.5 | 100.3 | 100.0 | 99.5 | 98.1 | 98.9 | 98.7 | 99.5 | 98.9 |
Source: ifo Business Survey.
© ifo Institute
ifo Employment Barometer by Sector
(Balances, seasonally adjusted)
| 12/18 | 01/19 | 02/19 | 03/19 | 04/19 | 05/19 | 06/19 | 07/19 | 08/19 | 09/19 | 10/19 | 11/19 | 12/19 | |
| Manufacturing | 9.6 | 4.1 | 3.0 | -1.6 | -4.0 | -5.6 | -8.3 | -12.4 | -10.8 | -12.9 | -12.0 | -14.1 | -14.5 |
| Service Sector | 19.7 | 18.1 | 18.3 | 14.6 | 16.6 | 13.3 | 14.0 | 13.3 | 8.1 | 12.0 | 10.4 | 14.5 | 11.7 |
| Trade | 4.9 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 1.9 | -0.6 | 1.2 | -1.0 | -0.9 | -0.5 | -0.2 | 1.9 |
| Construction | 16.6 | 16.8 | 17.0 | 15.3 | 10.7 | 13.0 | 11.8 | 12.7 | 11.2 | 10.8 | 13.0 | 12.2 | 13.6 |
Source: ifo Business Survey.
© ifo Institute
