In February the number of insolvencies among private individuals and corporate entities in Germany rose. According to the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research Halle (IWH), 1,466 insolvencies were reported, representing a 5 % increase over January and a 2 % rise compared with February 2025. Compared with the pre‑pandemic period, the figure is 58 % higher.
Large employers were especially hit, causing significant income and wage losses for employees. In February, more than 23,000 jobs were affected in the largest ten percent of insolvent companies. This marks a 38 % increase from January and a 22 % rise from the same month in the previous year. A notable portion of the insolvency cases involved hospitals and health‑care providers, such as the Klinikum Friedrichshafen, which employs over 1,500 people.
The IWH tracks early‑warning indicators that precede insolvency events. These indicators climbed sharply in February, reaching the second‑highest level recorded since 2020. On that basis, the IWH’s insolvency research head, Steffen Müller, expects continued high insolvency rates into March and predicts that April and May will likely see further increases.