In December 2024, around 46 million people with a residence in Germany were employed. The number of employed individuals remained almost unchanged, increasing by a mere 4,000 people (0.0%) seasonally adjusted, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) based on preliminary calculations.
In October and November, employment had increased by 13,000 and 9,000 people, respectively, showing a slight upward trend after a decline in the summer months of June to September 2024, averaging a decrease of 20,000 people each month.
Non-seasonally adjusted, the number of employed individuals decreased by 125,000 people (-0.3%) in December 2024 compared to November 2024, a stronger decline than the average of December in the years 2022 and 2023 (-104,000 people).
Compared to December 2023, the number of employed individuals in December 2024 decreased by 24,000 people (-0.1%), as reported by the statisticians. The change rates in the months of September, October and November had been at 0.0% each and in June 2024, it was still at +0.2%. The cooling of the employment development continues, with the number of employed individuals now slightly below the previous year’s level.
On average in the 4th quarter of 2024, there were around 46.3 million employed individuals with a workplace in Germany (domestic concept), seasonally adjusted, with no change compared to the previous quarter (+1,000 people; 0.0%).
In December 2024, according to the labor force survey, there were 1.44 million people unemployed. This was 129,000 people or 9.9% more than in December 2023. The unemployment rate rose to 3.2% (December 2023: 2.9%).
Adjusted for seasonal and irregular effects, the number of unemployed people in December 2024 was 1.52 million, only slightly higher than in November 2024 (+2,000 people; +0.1%). The adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.4% compared to the previous month.