Germany's employment stable with 46 mn in workforce

In August 2023, the number of persons in employment had decreased by 10,000 from the previous month, following small increases of 10,000 and 1,000 people, respectively, in June and July. Overall, the level of seasonally adjusted employment has hardly changed in the last months, according to provisional calculations of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).

Without seasonal adjustment, the number of persons in employment in September 2023 rose by 247,000 (0.5 per cent) on August 2023 due to the autumn upturn. Although this typical seasonal increase was somewhat weaker than in September 2022 (279,000), the number of persons in employment reached a new record high. The previous peak of 45.9 million persons in employment resident in Germany, as recorded in November 2022, was exceeded by 134,000 people, or 0.3 per cent, in September 2023. It was also the first time that the 46-million threshold was reached.

Compared with September 2022, the number of persons in employment in September 2023 was up by 0.6 per cent, or 291,000. The year-on-year rate of change was 0.7 per cent in August 2023, following 1.0 per cent at the beginning of the year. Compared with the previous year, the long-term upward trend on the labour market therefore continued at a slower pace.

In the third quarter of 2023, the average number of persons in employment whose place of employment was in Germany (domestic concept) was roughly 46.0 million according to provisional calculations. After seasonal adjustment, the number of persons in employment rose slightly by 7,000, or 0.0 per cent, from the previous quarter. Detailed results for the third quarter of 2023 will be released on November 16, 2023.

According to results of the labour force survey, 1.34 million people were unemployed in September 2023. This represented an increase of 48,000, or 3.7 per cent, compared with September 2022. The unemployment rate rose to 3.0 per cent (September 2022: 2.9 per cent).

Adjusted for seasonal and irregular effects, the number of unemployed stood at 1.32 million in September 2023, which was a decline of 1,000 on the previous month. Compared with the previous month, the adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.0 per cent.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (NB)