As Germany enters recession, a look at life in Europe’s ‘economic powerhouse’ 

With no workers to fill job vacancies, bills spiralling out of control and a rise in drug addicts on the streets, Germany – still widely viewed as Europe’s economic powerhouse – slipped into a recession last week.

Once famed for the financial might of its currency, the truth is that working-class and middle-class people in Germany are feeling the pinch.

Rental, energy and supermarket prices are rising, tightening the purse strings of an already thrifty nation further.

Things got even more bleak in Germany last Thursday when it emerged that the economy suffered an unexpected dip in the first quarter of the year, formally putting the country into recession.

German economists said that soaring costs due to high inflation has reduced consumer spending. In fact, grocery bills are a staggering 28.6 per cent higher than they were in 2021. 

The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.3 per cent between January and March, according to data released on May 25 by the Federal…