European Economy. Economic Papers. Germany's growth performance in the 1990's

Figure 3.11:Employment and hours worked
Source: IAB
Table 3.10: Employment rates
Total
D
E
F
I
NL
S
UK
N
Between 15 and 64 years
65.3
54.7
61.7
53.4
72.9
71.1
71.2
77.9
Between 30 and 34 years
80.1
71.2
78.2
70.9
85.8
82.0
80.7
85.8
Between 35 and 39 years
81.4
70.1
79.8
73.7
83.1
84.1
81.0
87.2
Between 40 and 44 years
81.9
70.3
81.0
73.3
82.6
85.0
82.5
87.5
Between 45 and 49 years
80.6
65.8
79.9
70.5
80.0
84.8
81.6
87.6
Between 50 and 54 years
74.3
58.4
74.9
58.1
71.4
83.8
76.1
82.8
Between 55 and 59 years
56.4
46.0
48.1
36.5
54.1
78.6
63.2
76.7
Between 60 and 64 years
19.6
26.4
10.2
18.0
18.5
46.0
36.1
50.8
Males
Between 15 and 64 years
72.7
69.6
68.8
67.6
82.1
72.6
77.9
81.8
Between 30 and 34 years
89.4
87.4
88.4
86.6
95.1
84.8
89.8
91.4
Between 35 and 39 years
90.1
88.7
89.3
90.7
93.6
85.6
89.4
90.4
Between 40 and 44 years
89.2
89.2
89.9
92.3
93.4
86.1
89.2
90.5
Between 45 and 49 years
88.0
87.6
88.5
91
90.8
85.9
86.0
90.1
Between 50 and 54 years
83.8
82.1
83.8
78.9
86.7
84.0
81.8
87.0
Between 55 and 59 years
66.1
68.4
53.8
50.8
69.2
80.6
70.8
82.1
Between 60 and 64 years
27.2
39.4
10.6
29.4
26.2
49.0
47.3
57.8
Females
Between 15 and 64 years
57.8
40.3
54.8
39.3
63.4
69.7
64.5
73.9
Between 30 and 34 years
70.6
55.4
68.0
54.8
76.0
79.0
71.3
80.2
Between 35 and 39 years
72.1
52.3
70.6
56.5
72.3
82.6
72.4
83.9
Between 40 and 44 years
74.5
52.2
72.4
54.3
71.6
83.9
75.8
84.3
Between 45 and 49 years
73.2
45.3
71.5
50.2
68.8
83.7
77.1
85.0
Between 50 and 54 years
64.7
35.5
66.1
37.7
55.5
83.6
70.4
78.4
Between 55 and 59 years
46.6
24.8
42.5
22.9
38.6
76.5
55.9
71.2
Between 60 and 64 years
12.1
14.8
9.8
7.6
10.9
43.2
25.4
44.2
Source: LFS, 2000 data
Figure 3.12 plots employment in full time equivalents. Even in the more favourable years up to
2000, job creation was quite weak in West Germany, let alone East Germany. The absolute
employment gains in full time equivalents from 1997 to 2001 were 0.7m in West Germany,
while in the East employment continued to decline.
75.00
80.00
85.00
90.00
95.00
100.00
105.00
110.00
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
emplo yment (to tal)
emplo yment (east)
emplo yment (west)
ho urs (to tal)
ho urs (east)
ho urs (west)

---

Figure 3.12 : Employment in full time equivalents (1991=100)
Source: IAB
The employment share of services is 68%, slightly above the level in Italy, but substantially
below that in the UK (Table 3.11). Germany appears to be catching up, however: The share of
services has risen by 8½ percentage points since 1991, somewhat more than in other economies
with an already high service share. The OECD (2001) has analysed the services employment
gap towards the US by level of income. This gap (also visible in the comparison Germany-UK)
concerns both low- and high-paid services jobs. In the low paid segment, Germany has
significantly fewer jobs in wholesale and retail, hotels and restaurants, education as well as
health and social work (Table 3.12). The latter two sectors have also lower employment in the
high-paid segment, where financial services, real estate and business activities as well as
community, social and personal services have to be added to the list.
The corollary to services employment is a still relatively high share of employment in industry,
even though the statistics probably overstate the true discrepancy, since the outsourcing of
services seems to have gone further in other countries. Employment in construction was
particularly influenced by the effects of re-unification: The construction boom associated with
the investment in infrastructure and housing led to an increase in construction employment by
430,000 (or 15%) from 1991-1995. These increases proved unsustainable in the following bust.
In the meantime, however, the decline of the construction sector seems to go well beyond the
adjustment to post-re-unification over-capacities and concerns West Germany as well.
Table 3.11: Employment shares (in %)
D