German firms are increasingly less inclined to cut jobs. The Ifo Employment Barometer rose to 93.4 points in January, up from 91.9 in December. “Job cutting has slowed, but it hasn’t stopped yet” said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of the Ifo surveys, on Wednesday. He added that the industrial sector remains under pressure and a turnaround is still not in sight.
Across most areas of industry, companies continue to reduce staff. The automotive sector and metal‑working firms are planning to operate with fewer employees, while retail businesses also aim to manage with a leaner workforce next year. In the services sector, however, the barometer showed a noticeable improvement. Positive and negative outlooks are now balanced, and engineering and IT service providers are actively recruiting new personnel. The construction industry has seen little change; firms there expect to maintain the same number of employees.
