Economics
Germans Are Working Longer Hours But Becoming Less Efficient
- Slipping productivity creates concerns over excess hiring
- A record number of hours were worked in the third quarter
Germans are spending more time than ever at work.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
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Germans are spending more time than ever at work, but their renowned efficiency is slipping, creating concerns that the hiring frenzy in Europe’s biggest economy may be overdone.
Amid record-low unemployment, Germans worked 15.64 billion hours in the third quarter, according to figures from the IAB Institute for Employment Research published Tuesday. That was the most since the group began collecting data for reunited Germany in 1991.