The German craft sector generated a total revenue of 762 billion euros in 2024, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). This represents a slight downturn, with revenue falling by 0.6 percent and the number of craft businesses decreasing by 0.7 percent compared to the previous year. On average in 2024, approximately 6.0 million people were employed in the crafts. This workforce was composed of 4.1 million employees covered by mandatory social security and 1.3 million marginal employees.
When analyzing performance by company size, a notable disparity emerged. Large craft enterprises, defined as those with 50 or more employees, saw a revenue increase of 3.4 percent year-on-year. In stark contrast, small craft businesses, those with fewer than five employees, recorded a significant revenue decline of 15.1 percent.
The craft sector remains immensely important within the construction industry. In 2024, nearly two-thirds (65.2 percent) of all companies in the construction sector belonged to the craft trade. The dominant group across the entire sector-in terms of company count, employed persons, and overall revenue-was the finishing and structural extension trade. In 2024, the 213,000 businesses in this specialized area oversaw a total revenue of 213 billion euros, employing 1.6 million people. Despite its large size, this area saw a revenue drop of 3.2 percent and a slight decrease of 2.1 percent in the number of companies compared to the previous year.
Sectoral performance varied greatly across different trade groups. The strongest growth came from the healthcare sector (including opticians, audiologists, and dental technicians), which reported a healthy increase of 4.1 percent. The automotive trade also showed a strong rebound, posting a 3.3 percent rise in revenue. Meanwhile, the food sector experienced a modest increase of just 0.6 percent. Conversely, the structural extension trade faced a 3.2 percent decline, while both the trade goods craft sector and the main construction sector saw moderate revenue drops of 2.0 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.
Overall, the craft sector accounted for 7.8 percent of the total economy’s revenue in 2024, marking an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the prior year. The sector provided employment for 12.7 percent of all employees subject to social security contributions in Germany, and its businesses represented 15.9 percent of all registered companies.