German companies are increasingly planning to cut jobs.
The Ifo employment barometer, published by the Munich-based institute, fell to 93.1 points in February from 93.4 in January. “Caution in the labour market is coming back” said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of the Ifo surveys. “Many firms now plan to lay off more staff rather than create new positions”.
In industry, workforce reduction remains a dominant issue. Nearly every sector is looking to trim personnel, especially the automotive industry, where adjustment pressure remains high.
Service‑sector firms saw the barometer slip back into negative territory, yet particular fields such as IT services and legal and tax advisory are still actively recruiting. Retail continues to plan to operate with fewer staff, while the construction sector showed a slight uptick: companies there are now planning to hire a modest number of additional employees.
