“The labour market is strong, despite the economic and political uncertainties. Unemployment and underemployment increased more strongly in August than is usual for the time of year. However, this is because of the continued arrival of refugees from Ukraine,” said Andrea Nahles, Chairwoman of the Federal Employment Agency (BA), on the occasion of the monthly press conference in Nuremberg today.
Unemployment figures in August:
+77,000 to 2,547,000
Unemployment figures compared with previous year:
-31,000
Unemployment figures compared with previous month:
+0.2 percent to 5.6 percent
Unemployment, underemployment and economic inactivity
As a result of the summer break and the continued arrival of refugees from Ukraine, there was another significant increase in unemployment in August 2022 in comparison with the previous month, by 77,000 to 2,547,000. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the number of unemployed persons increased by 28,000. The seasonally adjusted increase in unemployment is largely due to the arrival of unemployed refugees from Ukraine. Compared with August last year, the number of unemployed persons is 31,000 lower. From July to August, the unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 5.6 percent, making it unchanged compared with the same month last year. In July, the unemployment rate, as determined according to the ILO employment concept by the Federal Statistical Office, was 3.2 percent.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, underemployment, which, in addition to unemployment, takes changes in labour market policy and short-term incapacity to work into account, increased by 45,000 compared with the previous month. In August 2022, it amounted to 3,284,000 people. That is 24,000 fewer than a year ago.
Short-time work
Before the start of short-time work, companies are required to submit a notification of the expected loss of work. According to the current data on the verified notifications, from 1st to 25th August inclusive, cyclical short-time work was registered for 36,000 people.
The latest data on the actual take-up is available up to June 2022. According to the initially projected data from the Federal Employment Agency, in that month, the cyclical short-time allowance was paid to 259,000 workers. The take-up of cyclical short-time work therefore continued to fall.
Economic activity and employment
Economic activity and employment with social security contributions continue to increase. According to the Federal Statistical Office, in July 2022, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the number of economically active persons (according to the inland concept) increased by 23,000 compared with the previous month. At 45.60 million persons, it was 571,000 higher than in the previous year. On a seasonally adjusted basis, from May to June 2022, employment with social security contributions increased by 27,000. Compared with the previous year, in June, this increased by 639,000 to 34.44 million employees, according to the projections of the BA. In June 2022, 7.35 million people were in low-paid “mini job” employment, 194,000 more than in the same month last year. Of this total, for 4.16 million people, this low-paid employment was their only job, and for 3.19 million it was a just part-time position. The increase in comparison with the previous year is largely due to those employed in part-time jobs for low wages.
The demand for labour
The demand for new staff remains at a high level in August. In this context, 887,000 job vacancies were registered with the BA, 108,000 more than one year ago. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the number of jobs registered with the BA decreased by 1,000 compared with the previous month. In August 2022, the Jobs Index of the BA (BA‑X) – an indicator of the demand for staff in Germany – rose by 1 point to 135 points.
Cash benefits for unemployment and required assistance
In August 2022, 737,000 people received unemployment benefit, 70,000 fewer than a year ago. In August, the number of persons able to work and entitled to benefits in terms of the Basic Support for Job Seekers (SGB II) was 3,812,000. In comparison with August 2021, this was an increase of 58,000 people. Therefore, 7.0 percent of people of working age living in Germany were in need of support.
Market for apprenticeships
From October 2021 until August 2022, 408,000 applicants registered for an apprenticeship position at the agencies for employment and job centres. That was 13,000 fewer than the same period last year. Of this total, in August, 112,000 young people were looking for an apprenticeship, 76,000 of whom were yet to find an apprenticeship position or some form of alternative. At the same time, 526,000 apprenticeship positions were registered, 20,000 more than a year ago. In August, 182,000 of these remained unfilled. The market for apprenticeships continues to be busy in August. Therefore, the numbers of unfilled apprenticeship places and unplaced applicants will decrease significantly by the end of September.