German Labor Market Shows Signs of Cracking as Economy Struggles

Commuters at Alexanderplatz station in Berlin.Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
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German companies are thinking twice about hiring staff amid an increasingly uncertain economic environment, according to a study by the Ifo Institute.

A gauge measuring firms’ willingness to take on employees fell to its lowest level since February 2021 this month. Many in manufacturing, construction and trade plan to make do with fewer workers. The services sector is losing labor-market traction, too.