The typical upswing seen in autumn also led to a decline in unemployment figures in November. According to the Federal Employment Agency (BA), the number of unemployed people fell slightly by 26,000 compared with the previous month, reaching 2.885 million, the agency reported on Friday. BA Chair Andrea Nahles emphasized, however, that economic weakness persists, adding that “the labor market remains without momentum.” She noted that employment levels are stagnating and demand for labor remains subdued.
The unemployment rate dropped by 0.1 percentage points from October, reaching 6.1 percent. Compared with November 2024, however, the rate rose by 0.2 percentage points, the BA said. The number of unemployed people increased by 111,000 year-on-year. Labor Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) also stated that companies in Germany are “still facing major economic challenges.” This continued to be reflected in the labor market, she said.
On a positive note, the number of employees subject to social security contributions continued to rise, with “a record even being set” in September. According to the BA, 35.23 million people held such jobs, an increase of 12,000 compared with August and also 12,000 more than in September 2024. Bas said that “in the future, it must also be our goal to bring more people into work.” For this reason, the government would continue to strengthen incentives for taking up employment and make it easier for qualified skilled workers to immigrate.
Without the employment of foreign nationals, the number of workers in Germany “would have been declining for some time,” the Labor Ministry said. In September, 5.97 million foreigners in Germany were employed in jobs subject to social security contributions, 267,000 more than a year earlier.
However, demand for labor is decreasing. In November, 624,000 job vacancies were registered with the BA, 44,000 fewer than a year earlier. Martin Müller, labor market expert at KfW, said that the demographic shortage of skilled workers continued to cause problems for many companies. “This is evident in the vacancy periods for open positions. In October, it took an average of 161 days for a company to deregister a vacancy with the BA. In October 2010, it was only 56 days.”
Employer President Rainer Dulger again pointed this out as well. “Despite a weak labor market, two out of three companies cannot find suitable applicants to fill open positions,” he said. Every second company with recruitment problems considered social benefits too attractive, he added. Dulger called on the government to shape the welfare state in a way “that work and personal initiative pay off again.” He said the citizens’ income reform “must only be the beginning,” and that further reforms needed to follow.
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