The German economy is treading water. The gross domestic product stagnated in the second quarter of the current year compared to the previous quarter, as the Federal Statistical Office announced in a first estimate on Friday. The number of unemployed will also increase by more than 100,000 people.
The German economy did not grow in the second quarter. The gross domestic product (GDP) was unchanged compared to the previous quarter, as announced by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden on Friday. In the first three months of 2022, however, growth was significantly higher than according to initial calculations: from January to March, GDP did not increase by 0.2 percent as initially estimated, but by 0.8 percent.
In the second quarter, the economy was mainly supported by private and government consumer spending, as the statisticians reported. The trade balance, on the other hand, dampened economic growth: The difficult global economic conditions with the ongoing corona pandemic, disrupted supply chains, rising prices and the war in Ukraine were clearly reflected in economic development.
The number of unemployed in Germany also increased in July. It rose by 107,000 to 2.47 million. The main reason for this is the further recording of Ukrainian refugees in the labor market statistics, as the Federal Employment Agency announced on Friday in Nuremberg. Compared to July 2021, the number of unemployed fell by 120,000. The unemployment rate was 5.4 percent, up 0.2 points from June.
“Unemployment and underemployment increased more sharply in July than is usual for the season,” said Daniel Terzenbach, board member of the Federal Employment Agency. This is due to the Ukrainian refugees, who were initially classified as asylum seekers, but are now included in basic security and thus appear in the unemployment statistics. “Overall, the job market remains stable despite all the burdens and uncertainties,” said Terzenbach.
The use of short-time work has recently continued to decline, as the Federal Agency also announced. Reliable data are available until May. At that time, 328,000 people in Germany were on short-time work. With more than 2,000 employees, the federal agency is still working through the short-time work peaks from the lockdown phases of the corona pandemic. At the peak, almost six million people in Germany were on short-time work.
Three Berliners are said to have denigrated the virologist Christian Drosten on a campsite in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Police and prosecutors are investigating. The allegations are substantiated, and the campsite operator also reacted.
Tarek Müller drove drunk on an e-scooter through Hamburg at night. The police stopped him. A fine of 1,500 euros followed. However, Müller did not want to pay this and lodged an objection. The result: now he has to shell out 80,000 euros.
The US economy shrank in the spring. After a decline in economic output at the beginning of the year, gross domestic product fell by 0.9 percent on an annualized basis in the second quarter, the Department of Commerce announced on Thursday. Experts had expected growth of 0.4 percent.