On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 6:54 AM, Ira Glazer <ira.glazer at gmail.com> wrote:
> http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=ax3kyE3bILDY
>
> Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- As the U.S. unemployment rate surged to 10.2
> percent in October, economists scratched their heads and puzzled over
> the job-creation failure of the biggest stimulus package in the
> nation’s history. Across the Atlantic in Germany, policy makers were
> high-fiving as their unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked lower for a
> second time after peaking at 8.3 percent in June and July.
>
> While economic differences can be difficult to explain, the remarkable
> resilience of the German labor market is clearly and directly
> attributable to a specific economic policy. German policy makers have
> been innovative and clever. The Germans have discovered a secret
> medicine that can cure unemployment, or at least minimize its spread.
> Americans would do well to take some.
>
> The policy in question is called “Kurzarbeit,” which translates
> approximately as “short work.” Firms that face a temporary decrease in
> demand avoid shedding employees by cutting hours instead. If hours and
> wages are reduced by 10 percent or more, the government pays workers
> 60 percent of their lost salary.