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Article: Rising Unemployment Shocks East Germans, Prompts Fear of Unrest
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- June 9, 1990
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Unemployment has suddenly skyrocketed in East Germany, shocking
the newly democratic nation with a debilitating social problem
neither its leaders nor its people have experience with.
The Labor Ministry has estimated that at least 100,000 East
Germans have lost their jobs since December. The losses come as the
country moves away from the rigid, bureaucracy-heavy communist system
of the last 40 years and prepares for absorption into the free-market
West German economy under monetary union scheduled to take effect
July 2.
Some increase in unemployment was expected during a transition
period, but officials said jobs are being lost more rapidly and on a
greater scale than anticipated. As a ...