Germany Shows Drawbacks of Government Job Help: Lagging Europe

bloomberg ^ | 08/05 | Will Edwards

[Jordi]

Christiane Msechu, a job counselor at a government-run employment agency here, had appointments with 11 people one recent day. Seven wanted to sign up for training or language classes. Another three didn't show.

One was looking for work.

On another day that week, a line formed an hour before opening time at the Georgia Department of Labor's North Atlanta Career Center. At 8 a.m., about 40 people streamed in and began sending resumes on the fax machine.

[Jordi]

The true title of this article was "Germany, State of Georgia Comparison Shows Why Europe Lags in Job Creation", of a serie of work to compare economic enviroment in the USA and in the EU. See also http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/727795/posts

[jpthomas]

The labor laws in Germany also restrict the employers from offering part-time jobs or from hiring additional employees to keep their stores open for extended hours. Most retail stores can remain open only from 9-6 weekdays, and from 9-1 on Saturdays, except for the first Saturday of the month, when they can remain open until 6 pm.

[babble-on]

To me the amazing thing is that the Germans (and French and Italians etc.) do not want these rules changed, even though doing so would obviously help bring down unemployment by making it less onerous to hire a worker. It is a conspiracy by the employed to keep the unemployed out, and the unemployed get benefits to ease the fact that they have no work. A very strange situation, but no one wants to change it.

[lavaroise]

I think Europe has developed a criminal system where the tax payer is forced to pay for people who force them to pay and confine them. Europe is just another soviet style jail.