IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/iza/izawol/journl2019n379.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The labor market in Germany, 2000–2018

Author

Listed:
  • Hilmar Schneider

    (IZA, Germany)

Abstract

The EU's largest economy, Germany, has managed to find an effective and unique combination of flexibility and rigidity in its labor market. Institutions that typically characterize rigid labor markets are effectively balanced by flexibility instruments. Important developments since 2000 include steadily decreasing unemployment rates (since 2005), increasing participation rates, and (since 2011) moderately increasing labor compensation. The German labor market was remarkably robust to the impacts of the Great Recession, thus providing a useful case study for other developed countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Hilmar Schneider, 2019. "The labor market in Germany, 2000–2018," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 379-379, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:2019:n:379
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://wol.iza.org/uploads/articles/379/pdfs/the-labor-market-in-germany.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://wol.iza.org/articles/the-labor-market-in-germany
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Card & Jörg Heining & Patrick Kline, 2013. "Workplace Heterogeneity and the Rise of West German Wage Inequality," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(3), pages 967-1015.
    2. Ulf Rinne & Klaus F Zimmermann, 2013. "Is Germany the North Star of Labor Market Policy?," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 61(4), pages 702-729, December.
    3. Werner Eichhorst & Tito Boeri & An De Coen & Vincenzo Galasso & Michael Kendzia & Nadia Steiber, 2014. "How to combine the entry of young people in the labour market with the retention of older workers?," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-23, December.
    4. Hartung, Benjamin & Jung, Philip & Kuhn, Moritz, 2018. "What Hides behind the German Labor Market Miracle? Unemployment Insurance Reforms and Labor Market Dynamics," IZA Discussion Papers 12001, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/7k0plsobem9tuo09eg04jujb9a is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Michael C. Burda & Jennifer Hunt, 2011. "What Explains the German Labor Market Miracle in the Great Recession," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 42(1 (Spring), pages 273-335.
    7. Pierre Cahuc & Stéphane Carcillo & Ulf Rinne & Klaus Zimmermann, 2013. "Youth unemployment in old Europe: the polar cases of France and Germany," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-23, December.
    8. Christian Dustmann & Johannes Ludsteck & Uta Schönberg, 2009. "Revisiting the German Wage Structure," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(2), pages 843-881.
    9. Eichhorst, Werner & Hinte, Holger & Rinne, Ulf & Tobsch, Verena, 2017. "How Big is the Gig? Assessing the Preliminary Evidence on the Effects of Digitalization on the Labor Market," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 28(3), pages 298-318.
    10. Andreas Peichl & Nico Pestel & Hilmar Schneider, 2012. "Does Size Matter? The Impact Of Changes In Household Structure On Income Distribution In Germany," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 58(1), pages 118-141, March.
    11. Christian Dustmann & Bernd Fitzenberger & Uta Sch?nberg & Alexandra Spitz-Oener, 2014. "From Sick Man of Europe to Economic Superstar: Germany's Resurgent Economy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 28(1), pages 167-188, Winter.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bod’a, Martin & Považanová, Mariana, 2021. "Output-unemployment asymmetry in Okun coefficients for OECD countries," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 307-323.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hilmar Schneider & Ulf Rinne, 2017. "The labor market in Germany, 2000–2016," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 379-379, July.
    2. Moritz Drechsel‐Grau & Andreas Peichl & Kai D. Schmid & Johannes F. Schmieder & Hannes Walz & Stefanie Wolter, 2022. "Inequality and income dynamics in Germany," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 13(4), pages 1593-1635, November.
    3. Feld, Lars P. & Schmidt, Christoph M. & Schnabel, Isabel & Truger, Achim & Wieland, Volker, 2019. "Den Strukturwandel meistern. Jahresgutachten 2019/20 [Dealing with Structural Change. Annual Report 2019/20]," Annual Economic Reports / Jahresgutachten, German Council of Economic Experts / Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung, volume 127, number 201920.
    4. Simon Jäger & Shakked Noy & Benjamin Schoefer, 2022. "The German Model of Industrial Relations: Balancing Flexibility and Collective Action," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 36(4), pages 53-80, Fall.
    5. Carrillo-Tudela, Carlos & Launov, Andrey & Robin, Jean-Marc, 2021. "The fall in german unemployment: A flow analysis," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    6. Andrey Launov, 2021. "Working Time Accounts and Turnover," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(3), pages 1025-1056, July.
    7. Lea Immel, 2021. "The Impact of Labor Market Reforms on Income Inequality: Evidence from the German Hartz Reforms," ifo Working Paper Series 347, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    8. Ghosh, Sugata & Mitra, Anirban, 2022. "Ethnic identities, public spending and political regimes," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 256-279.
    9. repec:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2017-022 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Joachim Möller, 2015. "Did the German Model Survive the Labor Market Reforms? [Hat das Modell Deutschland die Arbeitsmarktreformen überlebt?]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 48(2), pages 151-168, August.
    11. Francesco D'Amuri & Salvatore Lattanzio & Benjamin S. Smith, 2023. "The anatomy of labor cost adjustment to demand shocks: Germany and Italy during the Great Recession," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1411, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    12. Burda Michael C. & Seele Stefanie, 2017. "Das deutsche Arbeitsmarktwunder: Eine Bilanz," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 18(3), pages 179-204, October.
    13. Helmut Herwartz & David Rodriguez-Justicia & Bernd Theilen, 2022. "A New Measure of Wage Risk: Occupation-Specific Evidence for Germany," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 164(3), pages 1427-1462, December.
    14. Beissinger, Thomas & Chusseau, Nathalie & Hellier, Joël, 2016. "Offshoring and labour market reforms in Germany: Assessment and policy implications," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 314-333.
    15. Burda, Michael C. & Seele, Stefanie, 2017. "Das deutsche Arbeitsmarktwunder: Eine Bilanz," SFB 649 Discussion Papers 2017-022, Humboldt University Berlin, Collaborative Research Center 649: Economic Risk.
    16. Christian Dustmann & Bernd Fitzenberger & Uta Schönberg & Alexandra Spitz‑Oener, 2014. "Od chorego człowieka Europy do ekonomicznej megagwiazdy: odradzająca się gospodarka Niemiec," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 6, pages 149-172.
    17. Sebastian Schmitz, 2019. "The Effects of Germany's Statutory Minimum Wage on Employment and Welfare Dependency," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 20(3), pages 330-355, August.
    18. Biewen, Martin & Fitzenberger, Bernd & de Lazzer, Jakob, 2017. "Rising Wage Inequality in Germany: Increasing Heterogeneity and Changing Selection into Full-Time Work," IZA Discussion Papers 11072, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Dirk Antonczyk & Thomas DeLeire & Bernd Fitzenberger, 2018. "Polarization and Rising Wage Inequality: Comparing the U.S. and Germany," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-33, April.
    20. Joachim Möller & Karl Brenke & Gert Wagner & Thorsten Schulten & Gustav Horn & Hagen Lesch & Alexander Mayer & Lisa Schmid & Patrick Arni & Werner Eichhorst & Alexander Spermann & Klaus Zimmermann, 2014. "Das Mindestlohngesetz — Hoffnungen und Befürchtungen," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 94(6), pages 387-406, June.
    21. Michael J. Böhm & Hans-Martin von Gaudecker & Felix Schran, 2024. "Occupation Growth, Skill Prices, and Wage Inequality," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(1), pages 201-243.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    wages; unemployment; Germany; vocational training; regulation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E23 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Production
    • M53 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Training

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:2019:n:379. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.