“This year, the traditional autumn upturn in the labour market has largely failed to materialise. Unemployment and underemployment fell in October – but as in the previous month, the fall was very small”, said Andrea Nahles, Chair of the Federal Employment Agency of Germany (BA), at today’s press conference in Nuremberg.
Number of unemployed persons in October:
-16,000 to 2,791,000
Number of unemployed persons compared with the same time last year:
+183,000
Unemployment rate compared with the previous month:
unchanged at 6.0 percent
Unemployment, underemployment and economic inactivity
In October 2024, unemployment fell by 16,000 to 2,791,000 as a result of the still muted autumn upturn. The seasonally-adjusted number of unemployed persons increased by 27,000 compared with the previous month. Compared with October last year, there were 183,000 more unemployed persons. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.0 percent. Compared with the same month last year, the rate had increased by 0.3 percentage points. The rate of unemployment in September, as determined by the Federal Statistical Office according to the labour force concept of the ILO, amounted to 3.3 percent.
On a seasonally-adjusted basis, underemployment, which along with unemployment also includes short-term incapacity to work, increased by 13,000 compared with the previous month. In October 2024, total underemployment was 3,558,000, which is 121,000 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 due to market conditions was reported for 67,000 people from 1st until 24th October.
The latest data on the actual take-up is available until August 2024. According to preliminary extrapolated data from the Federal Employment Agency, cyclical short-time allowance was paid for 184,000 employees that month, after 200,000 in July and 207,000 in June.
Economic activity and employment
According to the Federal Statistical Office, the seasonally-adjusted number of economically active persons (according to the inland concept) in September 2024 decreased by 19,000 compared with the previous month. At 46.24 million people, it was 43,000 higher than in the previous year. According to the calculations of the BA, employment subject to social security contributions fell by 9,000 from July to August 2024. In comparison with the previous year, employment subject to social security contributions in August increased by 118,000 to 34.92 million, with the increase solely accounted for by foreign citizens. 7.64 million people were in low-paid “mini job” employment in August 2024, 52,000 more than in the previous year month. Of this total, for 4.20 million people, this low-paid employment was their only job, while for 3.44 million, it was just a side job.
The demand for labour
In October, 689,000 job vacancies were registered with the BA, 60,000 fewer than a year ago. In October 2024, the BA Jobs Index (BA X) – an indicator for the demand for personnel in Germany, which also takes the number of new job vacancies as well as those already registered into account – rose by 1 point to 108 points. Compared with the same month last year, the BA-X recorded a fall of 7 points.
Cash benefits for unemployment and persons requiring support
891,000 people were in receipt of Unemployment Benefit in October 2024, 109,000 more than a year ago. The total number of people able to work and entitled to Citizen’s Benefit in October was 3,959,000. Compared to October 2023, this was an increase of 34,000 people. Therefore, 7.2 percent of people of working age living in Germany were in need of support.