Trends and facts 2023: Upswing, but new challenges
Despite the current global political challenges and high inflation, the Hannover Region's key economic figures are developing positively. After the recent economically challenging years, an upswing in the labor market can once again be observed: Employment figures are rising and the sectors severely affected by the coronavirus restrictions are increasingly recovering. At the same time, however, unemployment figures and rates are also rising again slightly after a certain easing on the labor market in 2022. These are the findings of the annual online brochure "Trends and Facts" published by the Hannover Region's Economic and Employment Promotion Agency, which has now been published in the 2023 edition.
The Hannover Region continues its dynamic upward trend in employmentgrowth. Around 541,000 employees subject to social insurance contributions were counted in mid-2023. The employment trend is therefore picking up speed again.
A differentiated look at the various economicsegments illustrates the different developments in the sectors in the recent past. The hospitality industry, manufacturing and the provision of financial and insurance services in particular suffered employment declines of up to 14% between 2019 and 2021. This was followed by a significant recovery due to employment growth in the hospitality industry (+6.5%), the creative industries (+4.0%) and again in financial and insurance services (+3.6%) year-on-year between 2021 and 2022. The largest increase in employment in 2022 was recorded in professional, scientific and technical services (+1,700 employees) and healthcare and social work (+1,500 employees).
Despite the current economic challenges, the Hannover Region remains ideally positioned for the future. Companies, universities, research institutes, public institutions, associations and organizations are investing extensively in innovative and sustainable projects and have been able to obtain considerable funding from the federal government and the European Union.
The labour marketin the Hannover Region showed a certain easing compared to the peak phase of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020/21. Among other things, the number of unemployed young people fell significantly, although it was still higher in 2022/23 (3,620 and 3,869 respectively) than in 2019 (3,436).
The strong influx of people into the region, also due to migration, led to a rise in unemployment figures again in 2023, which is reflected in a slight increase in the unemployment rate to 7.5%. The unemployment rates for both women and newcomers remain at a higher level in 2023 than before the pandemic.
With regard to its role as aplace totrainand study,the Hannover Regioncancontinue to maintain its excellent position. In 2022, around 86,000 young people were undergoing training or studying in the Hannover Region. The universities in the Hannover Region, including Leibniz University, the Medical School and the University of Veterinary Medicine, offer outstanding teaching and training. Vocational training is suffering a sharper decline (-11 percent compared to 2019) than university studies (-4 percent), with a trend towards university courses continuing.
Recently, tourismin the Hannover Region has also shown signs of recovery after the coronavirus years. Almost 3.6 million overnight stays were recorded in 2022, which is still 21% below the record year of 2019, but represents a significant increase compared to 2021. Accommodation providers have expanded their offerings and the number of overnight stays in the first three quarters of 2023 is only 5% below the same period before the pandemic.
"Trends and Facts" 2023 is available for download at www.wirtschaftsfoerderung-hannover.dealsPDF brochure.