German electrical industry – sales development in sectors [source: ZVEI: click to enlarge picture] German electrical industry – employment [source: ZVEI: click to enlarge picture] German electrical industry – regional development of exports [source: ZVEI: click to enlarge picture]

Despite the economic downturn, the German electrical industry sees itself on a successful path for 2008. “Our growth this year will be around 4% which is about double that of the of he average growth of the economic segment of the Federal Republic of Germany as a whole,” reports the President of the German ZVEI-Zentralverband Elektrotechnik und Elektronikindustrie [German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturer’s Association] Friedhelm Loh.

For 2009 the sector sees a further growth of sales of around 2% to more than 190 billion Euro as possible. The number of employees stands at 824,000. “For 2008 we are counting on a slight increase of employees compared to 2007 and assume we can sustain the number of employees in our industry in 2009,” says Loh.