Temporary Work in Germany and Europe
C. Boost, Herbert S. Buscher
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 2,
2009
Abstract
Temporary work is one of the fastest growing branches in Germany. This development in a sustained manner influences the whole German labour market. The special organization of this sort of employment for various reasons makes it very attractive to employers and employees as well. Nevertheless, the reputation of this branch is rather poor. Temporary work is characterized as precarious and as an unsafe type of employment. Compared to regular employment, temporary work is often considered as a bridging function into regular employment.
Based on the official statistics of temporary work released by the Federal Work Agency as well as on data from the German Socio-economic Panel (SOEP) for 2007, the paper presents the current situation and important characteristics of temporary work and performs an international comparison.
The number of employees in temporary work agencies is still a marginal share of total employment. The future development of this branch depends on different factors leading to possible contradicting directions. One important aspect influencing temporary work in the future is the degree of flexibility of regular employment opportunities on the one hand and the possibilities of temporary work agencies to adapt to future working conditions on the other hand.
Looking at other European countries, one can see that some degree of saturation in different temporary job opportunities has already been achieved, whereas new perspectives are opened for other jobs, either newly created or transformed from regular employment schemes.
Read article
Does temporary employment influence the workrelated training of low-skilled employees?
Eva Reinowski, Jan Sauermann
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 2,
2008
Abstract
Fixed-term contracts are considerd as one of the most popular instruments of labour market flexibility. Although they provide new labour market options for employer and employees, it is argued that they may lead to decreasing investments in human capital. From the theoretical point of view it is not clear wheter a fixed-term contract is a drawback for the participation in work-related training. The paper deals with the influence of fixed-term contracts on work-related training especially for low-skilled workers. Based on the Micro Census data of 2004, we estimate a bivariate probit model for the probability of fixed-term employment and participating in work-related training. This model enables us to control for selection effects that may arise from unobservable factors. From the estimation results we can conclude that holding a fixed-term contract does not mean a systematical disadvantage for the training probability of low-skilled employees.
Read article
Working time arrangement in the EU from the viewpoint of the employees: Results from the ad hoc labour market surveys
Cornelia Lang
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 4,
2006
Abstract
Despite the general improvement in the EU’s labour market performance, there are still large differences between individual countries. And there are differences in some fields between the pre-enlargement EU Member States and the recently acceded Member States. One explanation for these differences may be the predominance of former socialist countries with centrally planned economies among new member states. The article deals with the results of the ad hoc labour market survey of the European Commission. One of its subjects is the flexible use of labour. The main findings are: A working week of between 35 and 40 hours, distributed more or less evenly over the five working days, is the rule for the majority of employees. Part-time work is still dominated by women. Overtime is relatively common for most of the full-time employed. When asked if they would be prepared to accept more flexible working time, the interviewees do not favour all possible types of flexibility to the same extent. The most favoured model is either lengthening or shortening the regular working day. In the former socialist countries people work longer hours and they are more flexible with respect to how far they have to travel and the hours they have to work in order to keep their job.
Read article
Determinants of employment - the macroeconomic view
Christian Dreger, Heinz P. Galler, Ulrich (eds) Walwai
Schriften des IWH,
No. 22,
2005
Abstract
The weak performance of the German labour market over the past years has led to a significant unemployment problem. Currently, on average 4.5 mio. people are without a job contract, and a large part of them are long-term unemployed. A longer period of unemployment reduces their employability and aggravates the problem of social exclusion.
The factors driving the evolution of employment have been recently discussed on the workshop Determinanten der Beschäftigung – die makroökonomische Sicht organized jointly by the IAB, Nuremberg, and the IWH, Halle. The present volume contains the papers and proceedings to the policy oriented workshop held in November 2004, 15-16th. The main focus of the contributions is twofold. First, macroeconomic conditions to stimulate output and employment are considered. Second, the impacts of the increasing tax wedge between labour costs and the take home pay are emphasized. In particular, the role of the contributions to the social security system is investigated.
In his introductory address, Ulrich Walwei (IAB) links the unemployment experience to the modest path of economic growth in Germany. In addition, the low employment intensity of GDP growth and the temporary standstill of the convergence process of the East German economy have contributed to the weak labour market performance. In his analysis, Gebhard Flaig (ifo Institute, München) stresses the importance of relative factor price developments. A higher rate of wage growth leads to a decrease of the employment intensity of production, and correspondingly to an increase of the threshold of employment. Christian Dreger (IWH) discusses the relevance of labour market institutions like employment protection legislation and the structure of the wage bargaining process on the labour market outcome. Compared to the current setting, policies should try to introduce more flexibility in labour markets to improve the employment record. The impact of interest rate shocks on production is examined by the paper of Boris Hofmann (Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt). According to the empirical evidence, monetary policy cannot explain the modest economic performance in Germany. György Barabas and Roland Döhrn (RWI Essen) have simulated the effects of a world trade shock on output and employment. The relationships have been fairly stable over the past years, even in light of the increasing globalization. Income and employment effects of the German tax reform in 2000 are discussed by Peter Haan and Viktor Steiner (DIW Berlin). On the base of a microsimulation model, household gains are determined. Also, a positive relationship between wages and labour supply can be established. Michael Feil und Gerd Zika (IAB) have examined the employment effects of a reduction of the contribution rates to the social security system. To obtain robust results, the analysis is done under alternative financing scenarios and with different macroeconometric models. The impacts of allowances of social security contributions on the incentives to work are discussed by Wolfgang Meister and Wolfgang Ochel (ifo München). According to their study, willingness to work is expected to increase especially at the lower end of the income distribution. The implied loss of contributions could be financed by higher taxes.
Read article
The Impact of Institutions on the Employment Performance in European Labour Markets
Herbert S. Buscher, Christian Dreger, Raúl Ramos, Jordi Surinach
Discussion Paper No. 1732,
2005
Abstract
The paper investigates the role of institutions for labor market performance across European countries. As participation rates have been rather stable over the past, the unemployment problem is mainly caused by shortages in labor demand. Labor demand is expressed by its structural parameters, such as the elasticities of employment to output and factor prices. Institutional variables include employment protection legislation, the structure of wage bargaining, measures describing the tax and transfer system and active labor market policies. As cointegration between employment, output and factor prices is detected, labor demand equations are fitted in levels by efficient estimation techniques. Then, labor demand elasticities are explained by institutions using panel fixed effects regressions. The results suggest that higher flexibility and incentives of households to work appear to be appropriate strategies to improve the employment record. The employment response to economic conditions is stronger in a more deregulated environment, and the absorption of shocks can be relieved.
Read article
Development and consequences of labor market flexibility in Great Britain
Lioba Trabert
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 5,
1997
Abstract
Großbritannien gilt als das Land mit dem am stärksten deregulierten Arbeitsmarkt in Europa. In den vergangenen Jahren wurde durch unterschiedliche institutionelle Maßnahmen – vor allem in den Bereichen der Lohnersatzleistungen, der arbeitsmarktrechtlichen Regelungen sowie des Lohnbildungsprozeßes – ein hoher Flexibilitätsgrad erreicht. Hinsichtlich der Verbreitung unterschiedlicher Beschäftigungsformen entwickelte sich der Trend eindeutig zugunsten von Teilzeitarbeitsplätzen. Dabei läßt die Beschäftigungsveränderung nach Wirtschaftssektoren und Berufsgruppen nicht den Schluß zu, daß es sich lediglich um niedrigqualifizierte und schlecht bezahlte Jobs handelt. Insgesamt ist der Anteil der niedrig entlohnten Arbeitsplätze in Großbritannien mit knapp 20 vH jedoch relativ hoch. Die seit 1993 anhaltende Aufwärtsentwicklung auf dem britischen Arbeitsmarkt geht in erster Linie auf den konjunkturellen Aufschwung zurück. Die Flexibilisierungsmaßnahmen haben allerdings dazu beigetragen, daß die Anpassungsgeschwindigkeit von Beschäftigung und Arbeitslosigkeit an die konjunkturelle Entwicklung zugenommen hat. Bei der Bekämpfung der Langzeitarbeitslosigkeit waren die Erfolge trotz anhaltender Lohnspreizung, arbeitsmarktrechtlicher Deregulierung und einer geringen Lohnersatzquote dagegen gering. Mit einem Anteil von 43 vH Arbeitslosen, die länger als ein Jahr arbeitslos sind, steht Großbritannien vor ähnlichen Problemen wie die meisten anderen europäischen Staaten.
Read article