At least one group of workers has enjoyed a boom in the midst of the eurozone debt crisis – German language teachers.
Günther Schwinn-Zur, a veteran of more than two decades at the Goethe Institute, which promotes German culture, has never seen business so good. Demand for language courses at the Frankfurt centre he heads rose a third last year. Goethe institutes across the country reported a sharp increase in Greek and Spanish students, two of the eurozone’s hardest-hit nations.
“Germany’s image has clearly improved since the global crises of 2007 and 2008 – because its economy came out of those years booming,” said Mr Schwinn-Zur. “Whether that continues . . . well, do you know?”