The German labor market came through the past year well. The bottom line is a drop in the unemployment rate of 0.4 percentage points. There is also a decrease in December compared to the same month last year, if the many Ukrainian refugees are not taken into account.
The number of unemployed in Germany fell significantly in the past year. Compared to the previous year, it fell by 195,000 people, according to the Federal Employment Agency. This means that an annual average of 2.418 million people were looking for a job. The unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 5.3 percent.
The consequences of the Russian war against Ukraine – price increases, uncertainties, but also refugee migration – have certainly left their mark on the German labor market, said BA boss Andrea Nahles. “In view of the extent of the burdens, however, these are moderate.”
According to BA, the labor market was also robust in December. As is usual this month, the number of unemployed rose by 20,000 to 2.454 million at the start of the winter break. In December, the number of unemployed usually increases because, among other things, fixed-term contracts usually expire at the end of the year and companies are hiring fewer new employees that month. “Adjusted for seasonal influences, however, there is a decline,” said Nahles – by 13,000 unemployed. The unemployment rate rose slightly by 0.1 points to 5.4 percent.
Compared to December last year, the number of unemployed was 124,000 higher. However, this was due to the large number of Ukrainian refugees. Without taking them into account, unemployment in Germany would have fallen compared to the previous year.
The authority recently paid noticeably more short-time work benefits in the wake of the economic uncertainties. Current data on actual utilization is available through October 2022. According to this, 163,000 employees received short-time work benefits this month. From December 1st to December 28th, companies announced short-time work for 91,000 employees.
