More immigration? Germany should first use its million reserve

America's tech titans, aside from Apple so far, are outdoing each other with mass layoffs this winter. The image damage for the corporations is great, the glee towards the Californian Masters of the Universe as well - and of course some make the forecast, the alphabet, meta

On the other hand, the company manager who, even in the cost and supply chain crisis, is holding on to ailing lines of business and hoarding workers in the hope of better times is seen as exemplary because he is far-sighted and social. It remains to be seen whether the strategy, which is supported to the best of its ability in Germany by generous short-time work regulations, is particularly far-sighted and social.

In any case, continued state-subsidized structural conservation has seldom proven to have a promising future, and when less elastic personnel cost blocks lead to lower investments via lower profitability, the workers who are supposedly protected are least helped in the end.

The supposedly low level of unemployment, one of the last not a priori ridiculous sources of German arrogance, could therefore all too easily prove to be a double-edged sword. It is all the more deplorable that even business representatives, in view of the 1.8 million job vacancies, can hardly think of anything else than to constantly call for more immigration from distant countries.

Because the potential is far from exhausted. The job boom in Germany is almost exclusively a part-time boom. The number of part-time employees in Germany has grown by ten million within 30 years.

In contrast, the number of full-time jobs actually fell by three million. The result: An average employee in Germany only works 1349 hours a year, which is less than in any other industrialized country worldwide.

In addition, there are millions of people who are unemployed, who would like to work - and yet do not appear in the unemployment statistics. More than 3.1 million citizens belong to this "hidden reserve", as reported by the Federal Statistical Office these days. A majority of them have at least completed vocational training or university entrance qualifications.

No one should be under the illusion that the part-time trend can simply be reversed or that the “hidden reserve” mentioned can be mobilized more easily. The problem is rather that measures that could remedy the situation are not even being seriously discussed.

Hostile care structures full-time, a tax rate at a record level, a sacrosanct spouse splitting, hefty transfer withdrawals for additional earners: There are many adjustment screws that you could start with if you wanted to. Little can be expected from the traffic light coalition here. Neither did the opposition, including the Union. "Dare to make more progress", the official motto of the traffic light, is once again left to others.