28-Mar-2024

Germany calls in sick

The high sickness rate is driving the economy into recession.

Germany slipped into recession last year. A significant factor in this is the high rate of absenteeism, which was notably above normal levels in 2022 and 2023 and far surpassed the period of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"With a normal sickness rate, Germans would have worked over five days more in 2023," analyzes LBBW Chief Economist Moritz Kraemer. "With that, Germany would have avoided the recession last year!"

Read the latest LBBW To the point to find out why things shouldn't go on like this: