The employment miracle

After reaching a low point of economic dynamism and employment in 2005, a state of affairs in which it came to be regarded as the “sick man of Europe,” Germany achieved impressive, indeed apparently miraculous growth in employment. In the process German society cut unemployment in half and created almost 5 million new jobs. In this chapter’s discussion, the primary focus is on the different elements and causes that have gone into the employment miracle in Germany since the start of the twenty-first century. In addition, the chapter highlights the underlying weaknesses and problems in Germany’s labor market as the century’s second decade nears its close.