The cut in employment caused by the corona appears to have been overcome. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, almost as many workers were registered in spring as before the pandemic. However, it is not foreseeable what consequences the energy crisis will have.
Schwerin (dpa/mv) – Despite the long-term effects of the corona pandemic and growing uncertainties as a result of the war in Ukraine, employment in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania almost reached pre-corona levels again in the spring. In the second quarter of 2022, the country’s statistical office counted 762,900 people in employment in the Northeast. That was around 8,400 more than in the same period of 2021 and only 2,000 fewer than in the second quarter of 2019. After the first corona cases in Germany in early 2020 and the subsequent lockdown, the number of employees in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the spring was around 12,000 dropped to 752,500.
As can be seen from the data published in Schwerin on Tuesday, the change in trend began in the second quarter of 2021 and has since gained momentum. In the second quarter of 2022, for example, the increase in the number of people in work in the north-east was more than one percent compared to the same quarter in the previous year for the first time in four years. The plus was again higher than the average for the eastern German federal states, but was lower than in the west.
The job growth compared to 2021 is mainly due to developments in the service sector. The statistical office put the plus for the same quarter last year there at 10,600. In retail and in the corona-plagued hospitality industry, the number of people in employment rose by 6,200 to almost 194,000 within a year, and in the public sector by almost 5,000 to almost 288,000. Agriculture, manufacturing and construction recorded slight declines. However, around 2,000 more people were employed in construction in the second quarter of 2022 than before the start of the Corona crisis. Fluctuations were minor in the manufacturing sector, which employed 150,000 people nationwide.
The data presented are based on calculations by the Working Group on Employment Accounts of the Federal States, to which the Statistical Office of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania belongs. Employed persons are all persons who pursue one or more gainful activities, regardless of the length of their working hours. Employed persons therefore include employees who are subject to social security contributions or part-time employees, the self-employed, helping family members, freelancers and soldiers.
