A study used the Institut fur Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB) Establishment Panel as a data set for a labor demand analysis. (The IAB Establishment Panel are all German firms employing at least one employee subject to the compulsory social security scheme.) The first interviews in 1993 had a response rate of 4,356 or 71 percent; of these, 3,900 answered the questionnaire in the second wave and 3,404 in the third wave. Data analysis from the field of company employment and personnel policy identified the following variables affecting expected employment development: dismissal costs, recruiting and training costs, slower change in number of qualified employees in sophisticated jobs due to higher training costs, and time and cost required to adjust to technological changes. In an analysis of the determinants for changes in employment expected by the firms, the following were used as explanatory variables: proportion of qualified workers, proportion of part-time workers, company's profit situation, expected changes in business volume, technological status, number of organizational changes, and number of workers. The conclusion was that firms with good profits and better business prospects and small firms tended to have more positive expectations for employment. Significant differences were found between the manufacturing and service sectors. (39 references) (YLB)