Unemployment rate in September:
-66,000 to 2,806,000
Number of unemployed persons compared with the same time last year:
+179,000
Unemployment rate compared with last month:
-0.1 percentage points to 6.0 percent
Unemployment, underemployment and economic inactivity
As a result of the – only weak – start of the autumn recovery, unemployment fell by 66,000 to 2,806,000 in September 2024. The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed persons increased by 17,000 compared with the previous month. Compared with September last year, there were 179,000 more unemployed persons. The unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 6.0 percent. Compared with the same month last year, the rate increased by 0.3 percentage points. The rate of unemployment in August, as determined by the Federal Statistical Office according to the labour force concept of the ILO, amounted to 3.8 percent.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, underemployment, which along with unemployment also includes state-supported training and employment programmes and short-term incapacity to work, increased by 14,000 people compared with the previous month. In September 2024, total underemployment was 3,569,000, which is 132,000 more than a year ago.
Short-time work
Before the start of short-time work, companies are required to submit a notification regarding the expected loss of work. According to the current data, short-time work was reported for 65,000 people from 1st up to and including 23rd September, which is considerably more than at the same time last month.
The latest data on the actual take-up is available up to July 2024. According to preliminary extrapolated data from the Federal Employment Agency, the cyclical short-time allowance was paid to 212,000 employees in this month, after 220,000 in June and 196,000 in May.
Economic activity and employment
According to the Federal Statistical Office, the seasonally adjusted number of economically active persons (according to the inland concept) in August 2024 decreased by 21,000 compared with the previous month. At 46.15 million people, it was 136,000 higher than in the previous year. From June until July 2024, according to the projections of the BA, on a seasonally adjusted basis, employment subject to social security contributions increased by 25,000. In comparison with the previous year, employment subject to social security contributions in July increased by 150,000 to 34.73 million, with the increase solely accounted for by foreign citizens. In July 2024, 7.66 million people were in low-paid “mini-job” employment, 56,000 more than in the same month last year. Of this total, for 4.25 million people, this low-paid employment was their only job, while for 3.41 million, it was just a side job.
The demand for labour
In September, 696,000 job vacancies were registered with the BA, 65,000 fewer than one year ago. In September 2024, the BA Jobs Index (BA X) – an indicator for the demand for personnel in Germany, which also takes into account the number of new job vacancies as well as those already registered – rose by 1 point to 107 points. Compared with the same month last year, the BA-X recorded a fall of 9 points.
Cash benefits for unemployment and persons requiring support
890,000 people received unemployment benefit in September 2024, 107,000 more than one year ago. The total number of people able to work and entitled to Citizen’s Benefit in September was 3,977,000. In comparison with September 2023, this was an increase of 47,000 people. Therefore, 7.2 percent of people of working age living in Germany were in need of support.
The full monthly report is available in German at https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de.