BERLIN (Reuters) – Low take up of a government-backed ‘Kurzarbeit’ shortened hours facility points to a “very mild” recession in Germany this winter, the Ifo economic institute said on Wednesday.

In December, the number of workers on shortened hours eased to 186,000 from a seasonally adjusted 188,000 in November, Ifo said, citing estimates it based on data from the Federal Employment Agency.

“The fact that short-time work remains at a low level seems to indicate that the expected winter recession will be very mild,” Ifo researcher Sebastian Link said in a statement.

(Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Maria Sheahan)