Germany’s Wanderjahr in the Labor Market and Lessons for the United States

Germany endured a large loss of 9 percent of GDP in 2009; however, somehow the country still managed to increase employment in that same year by 22 thousand individuals to the surprise of many. That is a 0.05 percent rise in Germany’s total employment level. What policy brought about this imperious, though seemingly small, violation of Arthur Okun’s law? And, why in Germany? Answer: work sharing, or what German’s refer to as Kurzarbeit.