Unemployment statistics in Germany

There has been much discussed about the unemployment situation in Germany. Although the national unemployment level is around 11.5%, in each region the unemployment level vary dramatically. If you collectively look at the former Eastern German states, then you have an unemployment level around 15%, whereas the former Western German states average around 7,5%. If we get a bit more granular, it becomes more extreme. In the map above, the darkest areas represent regions that have unemployment between 20.8% and 25.1%. The lightest areas have unemployment under 7.7%. The furthest eastern part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has an unemployment rate of 25%, which is a stark contrast to Munich, with an unemployment rate of around 4.2%.

The clear separations that one sees on the map go to indicate that the issues behind higher unemployment in certain regions of Germany are issues that have developed over a very long period. This issue leads to frequent debates and discussions about how to improve the situation. As such, I haven't seen any activity which has improved the situation and all ideas are still theoretical.

This is a very complicated issue as not only is there a huge deficit of job openings in East Germany, but employers are often heard complaining about the "quality" of employees. The debate often centers around attitudes of employees in East Germany that had been used to a lifetime guaranteed job before the reunification. After the reunification, the social state was dramatically changed and in modern business, employees are asked to take initiative and to be much more ambitious. After so many years living in a different culture, this is very hard to change.

Highlights from Germany:England game at Wembley

American Journalist at Welt: Anjana Shrivastava

It is great to see Welt include some English editorial. I have read Anjana's articles and they are well written pieces that expose Germany from the outside. Please read her articles and add comments to encourage Welt to continue supporting her.

"Anjana Shrivastava: Entering the German Sector"

Welt: "Germany needs immigrants!"

Political Editor, Stefan von Borstel, writes in an editorial piece about Germany's need for immigrants. In his article, he sees the problem of the aging population and overall shrinking of the population as an issue that can be minimized by liberalizing of immigration laws. He notes that 456 top management personnel came from abroad and that currently the law offers an easier application process for a work permit to this group if they earn over 85,000 Euros annually.

I agree with his opinion that the laws are set up to work as barriers to foreigners, rather than as a way to have healthy integration and to improve the overall market.

Germany, like many countries, is very protective of its labor force. It is hard to explain to 3.5 million unemployed citizens why they are trying to bring in workers from abroad. This protectionism is also mirrored in the very strong social leaning politics that do everything to protect jobs at the expense of employers ability to stay solvent.

However, I am optimistic. The loosening of employment protection laws has been very helpful in motivating companies to hire staff. A strong economy motivates hiring and firing, encouraging businesses to grow and take risk. Highly protective labor laws, however, encourage companies to be very cautious about hiring and reduce the overall employment levels. This in turn motivates German companies to go abroad and set up operations in other countries with more favorable laws.

Changing the immigration laws and labor laws together would motivate not only more immigrants, but would also reduce exodus of talent. And, as Mr. von Borstel notes, Germany would profit greatly from having a talent pool made up of people with greater variety. The cultural and educational diversity only helps businesses find solutions for their customers that are more unique, but also can apply to greater geographic markets.

Adidas, one of Germany's greatest success stories, is a classic example of a German company who has moved some of their strategic thinking abroad, in order to find a talent pool that guide their company in a global economy. You will find their global marketing managed out of Boston. Of all of the US cities, I wouldn't have thought of Boston as being global, but it definitely has much more diversity than any city in Germany.

Please read Stefan von Borstel's article:
Deutschland braucht Zuwanderer!

American view on Germans

Do you have a Platzfreigabe?

If you are a golf player, then you probably know what a Platzfreigabe is. For those of you who want to play golf in a private club, which most golf courses are, then you will need to go through a test and receive your DGV-Platzreife. In this test, you will go through three parts. Part 1 tests your understanding of safety issues and general behavior. Part 2 tests your golfing skills. You need to be able to play at a certain level (it would be embarassing to have bad players out on the field). Part 3 tests your knowledge of golf theory. There are 30 questions, 15 are about the rules, 12 about etiquette and 3 general questions about the sport.

However, be careful that you don't lose your license! If you are caught two times breaking the rules, then you are in real trouble. That includes leaving divots (holes you accidentally dig with your golf club) or endangering other golfers.

Right to vote for foreigners

Have you been wondering whether you are able to vote in German elections, and if not, then how can you gain the right to vote?

In 1989 several parts of Germany passed various legislation to allow some groups of foreign residents to vote. However, all of these actions were struck down by constitutional court in 1990. In 1999 Hessen and Rheinland-Pfalz created new draft legislation to allow non-EU citizens the right to vote in communal elections.

However, to allow foreigners with unrestricted residency status the right to vote would require a change in the Grundgesetz (constitution). This would require a two thirds majority yeah vote. It appears as though this issue will be resolved after the Bundestag (lower house of parliament) decides on the planned changes to citizenship laws. Then we will see at what level one will be allowed to vote.

Today approximately 1.2 million residents with EU citizenship are allowed to vote in communal elections. There are some EU countries where non-EU citizens are allowed to vote in communal elections. From what I understand, EU-citizens are allowed to vote in local elections if they are permanent residents.

At the EU level, there are efforts to have Germany allow full local election rights to EU-citizens. According to recently published National Integration Plan, the introduction of communal voting rights of non-EU citizens is currently being examined.