“As far as the labour market was concerned, the poorly-performing economy remained evident in the figures for February. Unemployment fell very little in comparison with January,” explained Daniel Terzenbach, Regional Director of the Federal Employment Agency (BA), at today’s monthly press conference in Nuremberg.

Number of unemployed persons in February:
-3,000 to 2,989,000
Number of unemployed persons compared with the same time last year:
+175,000
Unemployment rate in comparison with the previous month:
unchanged at 6.4 percent

Unemployment, underemployment and economic inactivity 

With the winter break continuing, in February 2025, unemployment fell by 3,000 to 2,989,000. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, it increased by 5,000 compared with the previous month. In comparison with February last year, 175,000 more people were unemployed. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.4 percent. In comparison with the same month last year, the rate had increased by 0.3 percentage points. In January, the unemployment rate determined by the Federal Statistical Office according to the ILO concept of employment was 3.7 percent.

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, underemployment, which along with unemployment also includes short-term incapacity to work, increased by 2,000 compared with the previous month. In February 2025, 3,731,000 people were underemployed. That is 94,000 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 relating to market conditions was reported for 55,000 people from 1 up to and including 24 February.

The latest data on the actual take-up is available until December 2024. According to the initially projected data, the cyclical allowance for short-time work was paid to 222,000 workers in that month. That was 39,000 fewer than in the previous month, but 74,000 more than in the December of the previous year.

Economic activity and employment

According to the Federal Statistical Office, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, the number of economically active people (according to the domestic concept) fell by 11,000 in January 2025 compared with the previous month. At 45.80 million people, the total number of economically active people had fallen by 42,000 in comparison with the previous year. According to the projections of the Federal Employment Agency, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, employment subject to social security contributions increased by 12,000 from November to December 2024. In comparison with the previous year, such employment had increased by 80,000 to reach 35 million employed persons, with the increase solely accounted for by foreign citizens. In December 2024, 7.62 million people were in marginal “mini job” employment, 19,000 more than in the same month of the previous year. Of this total, for 4.14 million people, this low-paid employment was their only job, while for 3.48 million it was just a side job.

The demand for labour

In February, 639,000 job vacancies were registered with the BA, 67,000 fewer than one year ago. The BA Jobs Index (BA X) – an indicator of the demand for staff in Germany which takes into account both already-existing and newly-registered vacancies – fell in February 2025 by 2 points to 103 points. Compared with the same month last year, the BA-X recorded a fall of 11 points.

Cash benefits for unemployment and persons requiring support

In February 2025, 1,035,000 people were in receipt of Unemployment Benefit, which is 101,000 more than one year ago. The projected number of people able to work and entitled to Citizen’s Benefit in February was 3,969,000. In comparison with February 2024, this was a decrease of 37,000 people. This means that 7.2 percent of people of working age living in Germany were in need of support.

The market for vocational training and apprenticeships

Since October 2024, 294,000 applicants have registered for a vocational training position at the agencies for employment and Jobcenters, which is 9,000 more than in the same period of the previous year. At 397,000, approximately 20,000 fewer vocational training places were registered as available in comparison with the same period of the previous year. In February, the market for apprenticeships remains very busy, however. Therefore, the latest data only allows for a very general and preliminary assessment of the developments in the initial months of the 2024/25 reporting year.