Recruit Sales in Germany Covid-19 Bulletin November 2020

Recruiting in Germany Bulletin

Welcome to our November 2020 Recruiting in Germany Bulletin.

Despite a big drop-off in business confidence due mainly to the Corona Virus pandemic, the election in the USA, trade problems with the USA, and the Brexit negotiations, Germany is still a strong and attractive market for foreign investors with many foreign companies still looking to expand their businesses here.

Germany’s reputation as a business location has rarely been better among US companies for example. In this year’s American Chamber of Commerce Germany survey of the top 50 US companies in Germany, the country earned an even higher approval rating than in 2019. 

The president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany has was quoted as saying that US companies have given Germany a very high rating for a long time.

The ones that are here are continuing to invest, and many other companies are indeed looking at setting up their European operations in Germany moving forward. Furthermore, many US companies view Germany as a well-managed country. The government seems stable, and there is highly regard for the respect for law, legal processes, intellectual property, etc… in Summary, it is generally perceived that there is a good business atmosphere in Germany and that is seen to be attractive to American companies.

The economy of Germany is a highly developed social market economy. It has one of the largest national economy in Europe, the fourth-largest by nominal GDP in the world, and fifth by GDP. The country accounts for about 28% of the euro area economy (according to the IMF). Germany is a founding member of the European Union and the Eurozone.

If you are looking to recruit experienced sales staff to enable you to exploit new or existing markets within Germany, the UK, Europe or further afield, please call us for a no-obligation discussion.

Economic Commentary - what they are saying

GERMAN ECONOMIC INDICATORS in November 2020

It was reported that German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said there was a good chance Germany's economy could return to pre-crisis levels in 2022 or even earlier. Coronavirus lockdowns imposed to curb infection rates have rocked the European and global economies, hurting growth and business sentiment.    

However, with much economic activity still constrained by COVID-19, Germany’s government has moved swiftly to boost spending and that cash, along with support from the European Central Bank, appears to have cushioned the pandemic’s impact.

Gross domestic product is now only seen shrinking by 5.2% this year, the Ifo institute projected, more optimistic than its previous estimate for a 6.7% drop and the Bundesbank’s 7.1% forecast.

It has been reported that a survey released this Tuesday showed investor confidence in Germany dropped sharply in October amid a strong resurgence of virus cases. The Mannheim-based ZEW institute's monthly barometer measuring economic sentiment dropped to 56.1 points in Europe's largest economy from a 20-year high of 77.4 points in September.

Consumer confidence is also expected to tumble to minus 3.1 in November from minus 1.7 in October as sentiment has taken a hit from the ongoing pandemic and renewed restrictive measures.

German Exports

Optimism among German exporters has suffered a setback. In October, the ifo Export Expectations in manufacturing fell from 10.3 points to 6.6 points. Rising infection numbers around the world are cause for increasing concern in the export industry.

The food and beverage industry expects its exports to decline, and manufacturers of textiles and clothing are having problems with the development of their international markets either. In contrast, expectations among manufacturers of electronic and optical devices took a clear leap upward, and the chemical industry also expects international sales to climb. 

The German Government

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Germany's state premiers announced a new partial lock-down which began Monday 02nd November.

The so-called nationwide "lock-down light" is a less intense version of the measures that brought German society and economic activity to a standstill in the spring of 2020. 

The German government quickly and decisively set up a protective shield for citizens, jobs, and the economy in order to be prepared for all the social and economic effects of the coronavirus crisis.

The Ger­man Gov­ern­ment is adopt­ing a se­ries of tax mea­sures to sup­port busi­ness­es of all sizes dur­ing the coro­n­avirus pan­dem­ic, especially in wake of the second lockdown.

Secondly, it is ex­pand­ing its short-time work scheme, which pro­vides com­pen­sa­tion to cer­tain work­ers whose work­ing hours have to or have been been re­duced.

Self-employed workers will also receive 75% of their November 2019 gross earnings as compensation to be paid this month.

Compiled by SA in November 2020 from various public and widely available news sources and articles.

*Please note the information contained herein is an aggregate of news stories, by commentators widely available - readers should seek independent verification, and this in no way represents the views or opinions of Standley Associates.

We will continue to check the news reports and will provide monthly summaries of the trends