Shocking future prospects: district of Görlitz at the back!

Shocking future prospects: district of Görlitz at the back!

In the most recent future atlas of the Berlin Economic Research Institute forecast, the district of Görlitz is at the top - but in an unpleasant ranking. With 400 points, it occupies last place among the counties and independent cities in Germany and is considered the bottom of the region with enormous future risks. The situation also looks bleak for the district of Bautzen: with a rank of 333, it also lost significantly on the ground. While Bautzen has seemed to be improved since 2010, the Sächsische.de .

The future atlas take a variety of indicators into account in areas such as demography, labor market, economy and social factors. The decisive indicators include the birth rate, the development of the population and the unemployment rate. The forecast researchers attribute the poor placement of the two districts of Oberlausitz to acute economic problems. The region additionally burden high energy costs and an increase in unemployment.

The challenges of Oberlausitz

The district of Görlitz even lost 2.6% of its population between 2018 and 2021, which also tightens the social situation. According to Dr. Olaf Arndt, an expert from Prognos, is the high number of needs communities and the low purchasing power in the district. Nevertheless, there is a glimmer of hope: the gross domestic product (GDP) has grown by 13.2%, which is a positive development, according to the report of all-lausitz.de .

However, the structural problems remain. In order to achieve a trend reversal, it is necessary to promote larger economic settlements that are embedded in the existing value chains. Research could also play an important role here. Görlitz has some respected research institutions that are understood as the key to improving the economic situation. Political measures to establish authorities or institutes could also help create new jobs, but the effects in the structure are limited.

A look at Saxony

In a broader context, a new location report from the Saxon Ministry of Economic Affairs shows that Saxony has a positive economic development overall. The region is particularly attractive for all ages and has established itself as a place to live. The unemployment rate was 5.9% in 2021, which has corresponded to a decline of 11.8% since 2010. Gleichzeitig hat die Region eine hohe Arbeitsplatzdichte von 508 Erwerbstätigen je 1.000 Einwohner, die höchste in Ostdeutschland, wie aus dem Bericht des sächsischen Ministry of Economic Affairs .

The challenges for Görlitz and Bautzen are clear, but not insoluble. Positive developments, such as increasing GDP and the increasing purchasing power, give hope that improvements in the region will be possible through targeted political measures and more networking with the research landscape. Until then, the perspective of the upper seat remains.