Reference News Network, November 26 report: The Spanish newspaper "El Economista" website published an article titled "A Neglected Data in the German Labor Market Hiding a Deep Economic Transformation" on November 24. The author is Mario Besedas. The translation is as follows:

The overall economic situation of Germany is no longer a secret. A strong industry is being hit by internal weaknesses and external realities. The "new world" outside has destroyed the high-value export model that Germany has relied on for decades, leading to economic paralysis and catching politicians off guard.

They are eager to get out of the crisis, but despite Berlin's attempts to show determination or increase investment, doubts have been sown in people's minds. There is a sense of despair spreading through society. However, beneath this surface, a profound transformation is taking place in the German economy.

When people see news headlines about the survival crisis of German industry, they still imagine a large factory with smokestacks and mountains of coal. But this is no longer the case. Like most developed economies, services account for a large portion of Germany's GDP, currently approaching 70%, while industry accounts for slightly more than 20%. Traditional industries continue to "shrink," and manufacturing and service sectors based on technology are undergoing significant changes.

An analysis by BNP Paribas points out that nearly a quarter of the 700,000 new jobs created in the eurozone since the end of 2019 come from technology and digital fields, with Germany being a typical example. The bank's analyst Guillaume Driant said, "Germany may be the best example of this trend. Since the fourth quarter of 2019, total employment has decreased by 220,000, with the most job losses in manufacturing and construction, while technology sector jobs increased by 580,000. Therefore, although Germany faces structural challenges, its economy is undergoing a transformation in response to these challenges."

Seeing the wave of layoffs at companies like Volkswagen, Bosch, Thyssenkrupp, and chemical giant BASF, it seems difficult to see hope. However, BNP Paribas calls attention to the positive trends in employment in Germany's technology sector, which aligns with the continued growth in investment in intellectual property products.

Driant stated, "There is no doubt that Germany is experiencing technological progress, especially in areas related to artificial intelligence, which will reshape the economy of the eurozone and even the entire European Union. Although Europe is currently facing challenges, we should not underestimate the structural changes taking place, which are expected to increase productivity and promote growth in the medium to long term."

In fact, beneath the surface of economic downturn, Germany's tech ecosystem has shown positive signs in recent years. In 2024, over 2,700 new startups were registered in Germany, a 11% increase from 2023. Despite the tough economic environment and uncertainty, German tech startups remain very active.

Although Germany is currently facing many challenges, foreign tech giants still see potential in its development and have already invested in Germany. Tesla opened a super factory near Berlin in 2022. Google announced that it will invest 5.5 billion euros in Germany over the next four years for the construction and expansion of data centers, which is one of its largest investments in Germany. In 2024, Microsoft announced an investment of about 3.3 billion euros in Germany for the expansion of its data centers in Germany, particularly for artificial intelligence and cloud services.

This year, Germany will invest 1.6 billion euros in the field of artificial intelligence.

However, Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING, warned in his analysis that there is a risk in Germany: government efforts may focus on saving "20th-century" industries rather than giving 21st-century industries a chance.

Professor Oliver Thomas from the University of Osnabrück pointed out that Germany started late in this wave, and artificial intelligence in Germany has been in a dormant state, with ChatGPT sparking public and corporate interest. He also pointed out that Germany has missed opportunities in key technology fields, "In areas such as computers, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality, we have conducted in-depth research, but ultimately commercialized them abroad. That's why many models today are not from Germany." In addition, he lamented the lack of a systematic vision in Germany: "Artificial intelligence should be understood as a networked ecosystem. However, many people focus on seizing benefits, rather than scaling up."

Despite this, everything is not beyond redemption. Thomas believes that the large-scale application of artificial intelligence by German small and medium-sized enterprises is crucial for Germany to regain its competitive edge against the United States and Asia. (Translation/ Wang Meng)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7576951684862100014/

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