Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 22 June, IFO together with Berlin Economics held a webinar for the staff of the Institute on the topic "IFO Employment Barometer". The event is held within the framework of the implementation of the joint declaration "On advisory activities to support the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the implementation of economic reforms", signed between the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany on January 21, 2019 in Berlin.

Why is the Employment Barometer useful? It estimates the change in employers’ demand for labor over the next 3 months: will it grow, decline, or remain the same? The barometer also allows you to estimate in which sectors the demand for workers is expected in the next 3 months. It can also be used to assess the impact of regulations on businesses’ plans to hire new workers. For example, according to Dr. Klaus Wohlrabe, the minimum wage in Germany was introduced taking into account the employment barometer, i.e. taking into account the opinion of employers.

In particular, Dr. Klaus Wolrabe, Deputy Director of the Center for Macroeconomics and Research of the IFO Institute, presented information on the Employment Barometer used by the IFO Institute for Economic Research in analyzing the business cycle based on an assessment of the current situation on the labor market.

The IFO Employment Barometer since 2002 provides information on the current employers’ demand for workers from surveys. It is calculated on the basis of monthly reports from 9,500 enterprises in the manufacturing sector, construction industry, wholesale and retail trade and services, providing information on the planned employment volumes in the next three months.

Last year, Uzbekistan adopted Germany’s experience in calculating the Business Climate Index (Geschäftsklimaindex) with the assistance of the IFO Institut and the Berlin Economics consulting company. The results of a survey covering a qualitative assessment of the state of business and the expectations of entrepreneurs about the prospects for the development of their business are regularly published by the Center for Economic Research and Reforms.

The seminar was attended by representatives of the Institute for Forecasting and Macroeconomic Research (IFMR), the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction, as well as the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The next stage of the partnership will be the presentation of a pilot employment barometer for Uzbekistan to the German side and discussion of issues on possible implementation.