2021 data report shows who is most affected by the crown crisis

VFrom short-term work and homeschooling to acute existential poverty and excess mortality, the Corona crisis has deeply shocked the population in Germany. The effects can be seen in almost every area of ​​society. This is demonstrated by the 2021 data report, which the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) presented together with the Berlin Scientific Center for Social Research (WZB) and the Federal Institute for Population Research (BIB).

The first blockade in March 2020 resulted in an unprecedented economic crisis in Germany. In the second quarter, gross domestic product (GDP) fell almost 10 percent. Private consumption collapsed even more drastically, to minus 13 percent.

Sectors particularly affected, such as restaurants and lodging, lost nearly 90 percent of their sales during the orderly shutdown. Mobility also dropped suddenly by a third in the spring as a result of the contact restrictions imposed. Air traffic came to a complete halt for months.

The results of the Mannheim Corona Study (MCS) show how much the fight against the pandemic has changed people’s lives. Several thousand adults were surveyed regularly from March to July. One in four worked entirely in the home office at the beginning of the first lockdown. “During the pandemic, we are experiencing a home office boom – the proportion of employees working from home has increased six-fold,” says population expert Martin Bujard of BIB.

This option was mainly open to highly educated employees. After the easing in May, the share of those who worked exclusively from home fell again and was just below 6 percent in the summer. More than one in five employees, men more often than women, continued to use the home office temporarily.

Short-term work took longer to accelerate due to the pandemic. Although relatively few short-time workers were registered in March (2.9 percent), the rate reached 10.6 percent in May and remained equally high in summer. The evolution was reversed in terms of exemptions: after all, one in eight people received a short-term exemption at the beginning of the crisis, often with considerable loss of income.

However, at that time many teachers were also laid off, with ongoing pay. When the extended short-time regulation went into effect, exemptions fell dramatically in the following months. On the other hand, unemployment increased especially among the low-skilled.

For most employees, however, the world of work remained surprisingly constant despite the economic slowdown. For almost 60 percent of employees, the first shutdown did not affect the workplace, for them everything remained the same between March and July and they continued to work at the site.

At the same time, many parts of the industry were idle for weeks because international supply chains were disrupted. But large sectors, such as most businesses, health care, supermarkets or logistics, were constantly operating even in the time of Corona and generally needed their employees at work.

There were considerable gender differences in employment trends triggered by the crisis, but by no means, as is sometimes claimed, an overall disadvantage for women. Women are only half as likely to be affected by short-term work.

For this reason, they were released more frequently during the first confinement with a participation of 15.5 percent than men with ten percent. And although two-thirds of the women returned to work at the site in the summer, this only applies to one in two men.

However, given that women are employed with particular frequency in industries that are severely affected again during the winter shutdown, such as the retail trade, the cultural sectors or the hotel industry, they are likely to be more affected by short-term work. term again later in the period. crisis than in the summer months.

Employees least affected by the Corona crisis

In particular, there are many crisis victims among the self-employed, who are affected by the economic consequences of the crown to a much greater extent than dependent employees. One in two self-employed employees reported operating restrictions or a probable or existing loss of their job during the first months of the crisis. And one in five had to deal with financial losses back then.

The research data refutes the thesis that income differences increased in the time of Corona. Because households in the middle and upper income groups had to face a decrease in their income (almost 40 percent) more often than at the lower end of the income scale (28 percent).

State aid, such as the Child Bonus, which Hartz IV recipients also received in addition to their standard benefits, has helped stabilize low-income families. “The child allowance had a stabilizing effect on the lowest income groups in particular,” said Markus Grabka of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW). “In general, income inequality even decreased during the Crown period.”

When broken down by age group, older people are better protected: while nearly 2.3 percent of those older than 70 years had or expected a financial loss, the proportion among those aged 50 to 59 was almost six times higher and only slightly lower in adults.

Younger people are at the greatest risk of losing their job, especially since so many students have lost it too. Furthermore, immigrants are more likely to lose their jobs than Germans.

In general, married couples weather the crisis better economically than single parents, who find it particularly difficult to reconcile homeschooling, which is often necessary at this time, and caring for their children with his work. While one in four single parents reported financial hardship and risk as a result of the pandemic, this proportion was only six percent for married couples.

The researchers note that these results are just a snapshot of the first months of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the various state aids guarantee the protection of large sectors of the population. On the contrary, with continued restrictions on business activity in many sectors such as commerce, tourism, culture or the events industry, concerns about subsistence are increasing. “The full consequences of the pandemic, such as loss of education and skills, changed social relationships and the effects on children and families, we will only see all of this in a few years,” stressed WZB President Jutta Allmendinger.