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And what happened after the end of the lockdown in Germany? That labor is scarce – especially in the industries affected by the closure. Hotels and restaurants are running out, he says Deutsche Welle.
Although restaurants and hotels in Germany are working again and looking for additional staff, the number of employees in these sectors remains well below pre-pandemic values. As of July 2021, 15.6 percent fewer people work in restaurants and hotels in Germany than in July 2019. This percentage is equal to 272,812 people.
The pandemic has exacerbated labor market problems
“In many areas of the services industry that have been hit hard by the closure, we can talk about coronavirus shock,” said economist Stefan Zell.
Even before the pandemic, the labor market faced a serious shortage of staff. The reason for this is demographic: the “baby boom” generation, ie. people born between the end of World War II and the mid-1960s are retiring, and there is no interest in filling the vacancies. The German Institute for Labor Market and Employment Research estimates that the country needs 400,000 foreign workers each year to make up for the shortage. The pandemic only accelerated this process.
Hotels and restaurants are among the hardest hit. The most serious decline is in part-time employees. According to the German Federal Agency for Employment in the restaurant and hotel industry, they have decreased by 25 percent.
Aviation is also seriously affected. According to the ver.di union, 44 percent of those working in the industry who were employed at airports – such as check-in counters or baggage handling – left the industry. This is already being felt. Large queues have been forming at Berlin Brandenburg Airport for several weeks.
Businesses are forced to raise wages
Some restaurants and hotels already have to limit their activities and working hours. “We have reduced working hours,” admits Hamburg hotelier Nicklaus Kaiser von Rosenburg. “In the past, we could have offered a 100 percent job guarantee in the restaurant business, but the crown crisis has removed that security.” Many employers have raised wages, explains von Rosenburg. “The only way out is to significantly increase the prices of services,” says the hotelier.
But for many of the employees who have decided to change the industry, there is no going back. “I rethought things and decided to find a job that I don’t risk staying on the street from today to tomorrow,” said a former technician in the aviation industry who now works for logistics company DHL. “Money matters, but for me the most important thing was a secure job.”
A former hotel employee who now works as a secretary at a real estate company added: “The crown opened my eyes. If it wasn’t for the lockdown, I would have stayed at the hotel. But I realized how difficult the working conditions there are. And that there are alternatives. which are much more attractive. ” Regulated working hours, more freedom, more money, more recognition – these are aspects that are often key to these people’s decisions.
Money is not the most important thing
It is not very clear where the employees who left the areas most affected by the pandemic have moved to work. Experts suggest they have shifted to growing sectors such as logistics and trade.
Social researcher Stefan Zell notes that they have benefited from a fundamental change in the employment structure: “Many now have the opportunity to find alternatives even in the low-wage sector to move to other industries where there are better working conditions. And that doesn’t just mean better wages. “
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