Russia-Ukraine war: Short-run production and labour market effects of the energy crisis

With the Russian war against Ukraine, global economic conditions changed abruptly. We provide first causal evidence of effects of the energy crisis on Germany as Europe's most important economy. Combining cost structure data, national accounts and administrative labour market data, we identify effects in a sectoral panel setting. The results show that via the channel of energy intensity, production decreased by about 1 percent with the onset of the war, but turnover increased, mirroring sales from stock. Firms safeguard employment via short-time work with 10 percent additional applications. Vacancy posting was reduced already in anticipation by 8 percent.