Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine, renewed curfews in China, and the consequences of these events on global supply chains, the inflation rate has reached historic levels in reunified Germany since the beginning of the year. The German government has already adopted two comprehensive measures to cushion the impact of rising prices for energy, food and mobility. However, given the increasing uncertainty in the energy supply and continuing high inflation rates, these do not seem to be enough.

By 2030, there will be profound changes in Bavaria’s industrial labour market due to the ongoing processes of decarbonisation and digitalisation. As a result, industrial companies face an inevitable transformation of their products and processes, which requires a change in the activities and skills of their employees.

The study ‘Bavaria’s industrial labour market in transformation – Measures to surmount decarbonisation and digitalisation in Bavaria until 2030’ commissioned by the BayernSPD parliamentary group focuses on the question of which additional state policy measures can support the Bavarian industry until 2030 to take advantage of the opportunities of the transformation and to master its challenges at the prevailing high level of employment.

Inflation is having a significant impact on private households in Germany. Low-income households, in particular, are facing, in some cases, dramatic price increases for everyday consumer goods, which may threaten their very existence.

The packages of measures already adopted by the German government provide greater relief for lower-income households than for high-income households but are not sufficient to fully compensate for the burden of higher prices in the lowest income groups.