Are Europe’s furlough schemes winding down?

SO IMPRESSIVE IS Germany’s trading prowess that when the coronavirus pandemic struck, it even found something new to export: its short-time working scheme, or Kurzarbeit. Most OECD countries deployed such programmes this year, as they sought to avert mass unemployment and support workers’ incomes during lockdowns. Those that had never had them, such as Britain, imported the idea wholesale. Others, such as Spain, drastically expanded access to existing programmes. America, however, went in another direction, preferring to increase the generosity of unemployment benefits.