Germany’s jobless rate has reached a near three million, the highest level in nearly a decade, according to the Federal Employment Agency (BA). In January, the agency registered 2,993 million people as unemployed, a 186,000 increase from the previous month and 187,000 more than in the same period last year. The unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage points to 6.4 percent.
Traditionally, the number of unemployed people increases in January as many temporary contracts end and weather-dependent jobs, such as those in the construction sector, decline. February often sees a stabilization of the situation, before a first spring rebound sets in in March.
However, the economic weakness is leaving a lasting impact, according to BA’s chief, Andrea Nahles, who stated, “As the year begins, unemployment and underemployment, as is typical in this month, have clearly increased. While the employment growth trend continues, it is losing momentum.”
The number of employees on short-time work has also increased significantly. In November, the agency paid out short-time work benefits to approximately 293,000 employees, up from 263,000 in October and 221,000 in September.
On the other hand, the demand for labor has decreased. The Federal Employment Agency reported 632,000 open job postings in January, a 66,000 decrease from the previous year. This resulted in a nine-point decline in the BA’s job vacancy index (BA-X), a indicator that takes into account the number of job postings and access to the labor market, to 106 points.