Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – Unemployment in North Rhine-Westphalia continued to fall in May, as is usual in the spring. In the most populous federal state, 637,813 people were registered as unemployed as of the reporting date, as reported by the NRW regional office of the Federal Employment Agency on Tuesday in Düsseldorf. That was 1.2 percent less than in April. The rate fell to 6.5 percent (April: 6.6). In May 2021 it was still 7.5 percent.
According to the regional directorate, it is the second lowest unemployment figure in May since 1992. Only in May 2019 was it lower. “Our labor market is proving to be robust when it comes to dealing with challenges, which is positive news for us in NRW,” said Torsten Withake, head of the regional directorate. In this context, he mentioned the difficulties in the supply chains and the consequences of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
Compared to May 2021, the number of unemployed young people under the age of 25 has fallen the most – by more than 20 percent. “Youth unemployment is now at around 47,500 young people registered as unemployed, the lowest in May since 1982,” said Withake. The reason is that the companies are looking for many skilled workers and young people are therefore “in great demand”.