Arbeitslosigkeit regional: Auf verschiedenen Wegen in die Zukunft (Regional unemployment: Different paths to the future)

In the Federal Republic of Germany, unemployment forms large-scale regional patterns. First of all there is an east-west gradient shown by the fact that the west has an unemployment quota of 7.1 per cent (June 2008) and the east 14.3 per cent. Within the eastern part of Germany in turn there are regional differences between the areas at the former inner-German border with Bavaria and Berlin (unemployment rate below 10 per cent) and rural areas, with an unemployment rate of over 20 per cent. In the western part of Germany unemployment is generally higher in the north than in the south. The article examines how evenly or unevenly the economic trend affects regional labour markets in Germany. The authors come to the conclusion that it is unlikely that low unemployment rates can be achieved throughout the country. As the regional differences are 'very permanent' it is to be expected that even in a boom period in eastern Germany a certain basic amount of unemployment will exist in the long term. Migration to areas with low unemployment figures will not lead to a permanent drop in the unemployment rate in eastern Germany according to the authors. Successes will only ensue in the wake of an improvement in the global economic trend. 'The current massive problems in the financial markets of the world are overshadowing regional development in Germany.' (IAB)