MittelstandsWiki

In October this year the financial crisis had not yet affected employment in the German processing industry. At the end of October businesses in the German processing industry with at least 50 employees provided work to about 5.4 million people which was a plus of 2.0% or 105,700 people more as compared to October 2007. Once more, most jobs were created in German mechanical engineering (+5.2%). The smallest number of new jobs was created in the chemical industry (0.0%). +++

According to the latest study on purchasing power in Germany by the GfK market research association, next year the average salary increase and the inflation rate in Germany may probably set off each other so that purchasing power of Germans will stagnate. The study also shows that the average purchasing power differs significantly in different regions of Germany. At the top end of the purchasing power ranking there were little changes, according to the experts from Nuremberg. At the bottom end there are once again only East German regions and the West German city of Bremerhaven. On the other hand, some East German districts have benefited from a rise in the purchasing power of their citizens. +++

According to the German Association of Information Management, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM), it is estimated that in the year 2009 federal, regional and local authorities combined will invest 18.1 billion Euros in information technology and telecommunications. This would be an increase by 2.7% as compared to the current year 2008. These predictions are based on a study by the TechConsult market research institute. According to estimates by BITKOM, the amount of money necessary to provide public administration, health systems, schools and police stations with state of the art equipment alone amounts to 8 billion Euros. +++