Germany’s employment figures for the second quarter of 2025 show a slight overall increase, though with notable sectoral variations. Preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) indicates approximately 46.0 million people were employed during the period. This represents a minor decrease of 7,000 individuals compared to the first quarter of 2025, after seasonal adjustment. However, the first quarter of 2025 had seen a seasonally adjusted increase of 17,000.
Without seasonal adjustment, employment rose by 198,000, or 0.4 percent, compared to the first quarter – a typical trend for the second quarter of the year. This increase was, however, weaker than the average of 266,000 (+0.6 percent) registered between 2022 and 2024.
Compared to the second quarter of 2024, employment increased marginally by 10,000. The rate of growth has slowed since the post-crisis peak in the second quarter of 2022, which saw an increase of 679,000 (+1.5 percent). In the first quarter of 2025, employment exceeded the previous year’s level by only 40,000 (+0.1 percent).
A divergence in performance was observed between sectors. Service industries saw an increase of 178,000 employees (+0.5 percent), while employment outside of services decreased by 168,000 (-1.5 percent).
Within services, public services, education and health continued a long-term upward trend, gaining 225,000 employees (+1.9 percent). Other services, including associations and interest groups, saw an increase of 24,000 (+0.8 percent). Financial and insurance services added 19,000 employees (+1.8 percent). Conversely, information and communication saw a further decline of 4,000 (-0.3 percent), ending a nearly decade-long period of growth. Trade, transport and hospitality experienced a decrease of 38,000 (-0.4 percent), while the number of employees in business and professional services, including temporary staffing agencies, fell by 56,000 (-0.9 percent).
In manufacturing excluding construction, employment declined by 141,000 (-1.7 percent) year-on-year. Construction also saw a decrease of 21,000 (-0.8 percent), as did agriculture, forestry and fishing, which lost 6,000 jobs (-1.0 percent).
The positive trend in employment subject to social security contributions largely offset the overall decrease, preventing a more substantial year-on-year decline. There were, however, declines in marginal employment, including short-term and low-wage positions. The total number of employees rose slightly by 54,000 (+0.1 percent) to 42.3 million, while the number of self-employed individuals, including assisting family members, continued to fall, decreasing by 44,000 (-1.2 percent) to 3.7 million.
Average hours worked per employee decreased by 0.5 percent to 315.4 hours in the second quarter of 2025. Consequently, total hours worked across the economy fell by 0.5 percent to 14.5 billion hours, according to preliminary data from the Institute for Employment Research (IAB).
According to data released by Eurostat, employment across the 27 EU member states and the Eurozone rose by an average of 0.7 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025.