The number of people in employment has fallen for the first time in ten months.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The number of unemployed rose slightly in June. With 2.555 million people, 11,000 more were unemployed than in the previous month and 192,000 more than a year ago, the Federal Employment Agency announced on Friday. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.5 percent
Meanwhile, the number of people in employment, adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, fell by 4,000 in May compared to the previous month, according to the Federal Statistical Office. This is the first decline in ten months.
In April there was still an increase of 14,000, in February and March even of 55,000 each. The German economy has recently shrunk for two quarters in a row and is therefore in a recession. Leading economic research institutes also expect gross domestic product to shrink overall in 2023. A total of around 45.7 million people resident in Germany were employed in May.
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“We are now also feeling the more difficult economic conditions on the job market,” said BA boss Andrea Nahles. “Unemployment is rising and employment growth is losing momentum.” According to the Federal Employment Agency (BA), the demand for labor in companies has been falling steadily for a year now: The seasonally adjusted job index fell by three points to 119 points in June after this had reached a high of 139 points in May 2022, as determined by the BA.
The Ifo Institute came to a similar conclusion in its survey of 9,000 companies. The employment barometer calculated from this for the economy as a whole rose in June, but only slightly by 0.2 to 98.4 points, as the Munich researchers found out. “But in industry in particular, the burgeoning pessimism is reflected in cautious personnel planning,” said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of the Ifo surveys. “Only the service providers are still thinking about new hires.”
Overall, the labor market is likely to remain comparatively robust. Ifo researchers expect the number of unemployed to rise this year, but then fall again to 2.45 million in 2024. At the same time, the number of people in work is likely to increase sharply and reach a record level of 46.07 million in the coming year.
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