DIW makes a loss calculation: Partial lockdown costs 19 billion euros

Gastronomy and the hotel industry in particular are suffering, but the cultural sector, trade and industry will also have to accept losses in the upcoming partial lockdown. The DIW has determined this and comes to more than 19 billion euros – and new unemployed.

The one-month lockdown that will apply from Monday as a result of the corona crisis will cost the German economy dearly, according to DIW calculations. It will cost them around 19.3 billion euros, determined the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) for "Welt am Sonntag". With losses of 5.8 billion euros, catering and hotels are hardest hit. That would be a loss of 55 percent of the usual economic output in a quarter.

The areas of sport, culture and entertainment have to cope with a minus of 2.1 billion euros, the trade by 1.3 billion euros. According to the DIW, German industry must reckon with a loss of 5.2 billion euros. A large part of the remaining amount goes to corporate service providers, logistics companies and cinema operators.

The lockdown should also have an impact on the labor market. According to the DIW forecast, the number of employees will fall by almost 100,000 in the current fourth quarter. The number of short-time workers will increase by 400,000 to 3.2 million by the end of the year.

The number of company bankruptcies is likely to increase

In the coming year, the researchers expect a clear recovery: "We assume that gross domestic product will be able to increase significantly again in 2021 – but only if the second wave of infections can be stopped soon," said DIW President Marcel Fratzscher. At the same time, both the number of bankruptcies and the unemployed are likely to rise.

The latter is currently being mitigated by short-time working. The federal and state governments agreed on massive contact restrictions on Wednesday in order to stop the rapid spread of the corona virus. From Monday, restaurants and leisure, cultural and sports facilities must close. The trade as well as schools and daycare centers should remain open. At the same time, the federal government promised extensive aid measures for affected companies.

. (tagsToTranslate) Economy (t) DIW (t) Lockdown (t) Corona measures (t) Pandemics