The number of jobs advertised in Germany’s industrial sector has fallen significantly for the second consecutive year. According to an analysis of the job market research index, as reported by “Welt am Sonntag” companies advertised seven percent fewer positions last year compared to the previous year, following an eleven percent decline the year before that. In total, about 1.13 million jobs were advertised in 2025, down from 1.21 million in 2024.
Conversely, the labor market is showing growth in other sectors. In the healthcare and social services fields, the number of advertised vacancies rose by four percent. These figures are based on an analysis covering 197 print media outlets, 321 online job boards, the federal employment agency’s job portal, and approximately 969,000 company websites.
This trend serves as an early indicator of the job market; experts suggest that companies that stop advertising positions today may halt hiring tomorrow and implement layoffs the day after. Oliver Stettes, a labor market expert from the Institute of German Economy in Cologne, noted that “the labor market looks better than it actually is”. He added that the “crisis is largely taking place unseen, and this is most visible in the very restrained hiring behavior of companies”. He cautioned that the record overall employment levels mask a structural shift-moving toward state-affiliated services and away from industrial value creation.
This shift has broad repercussions for the economy. Enzo Weber, research department head at the Institute for Labor Market Research (IAB), stated that while “new jobs in care or education have high social value” the loss of industrial employment and investment “will lead to sweeping deindustrialization”.
Consequently, pressure is mounting from the business sector. Rainer Dulger, President of the employers’ association BDA, emphasized the need for substantial reforms in the social safety net, reduction of bureaucracy, and energy costs, warning that “otherwise, job reductions will continue”.