Germany's neighbours in the European Union have long wished that its parsimonious citizens would save less and spend more, to boost the economy of the whole region. Might this now be happening, as Germany enjoys growth in both jobs and wages? Unemployment, down to 6.4%, has continued to fall despite the introduction of a national minimum wage in January. Last year nominal pay rose by 2.9%, and with inflation negligible it was the best year for real wage growth since 1999, notes Heiko Peters, an economist at Deutsche Bank. Despite worries about the knock-on effects of a possible Greek exit from the euro, the German public's confidence has climbed steadily, according to a survey by GfK, a market-research outfit (see chart, next page). As a result, spending is beginning to tick upwards. And outsiders are noticing: earlier this month Hudson's Bay Company, a Canadian retailer, outbid an Austrian firm, Signa, to buy Kaufhof, Germany's biggest department-store chain.
展开▼
机译：欧盟的德国邻国长期以来一直希望其节俭的公民能够减少储蓄，增加支出，以促进整个地区的经济发展。随着德国在工作和工资上都获得增长，这可能正在发生吗？尽管一月份实行了全国最低工资标准，但失业率下降到6.4％，并继续下降。德意志银行（Deutsche Bank）的经济学家彼得斯（Heiko Peters）指出，去年名义工资增长了2.9％，通货膨胀率微不足道，这是自1999年以来实际工资增长最好的一年。市场研究机构GfK的一项调查显示，尽管担心希腊退出欧元可能带来的连锁反应，但德国公众的信心却稳步上升。结果，支出开始上升。外界也注意到了：本月初，加拿大零售商哈德逊湾公司（Hudson's Bay Company）出价超过奥地利公司Signa，以收购德国最大的百货连锁店Kaufhof。
展开▼
