Economy Number of unemployed in Germany rises in August

The number of unemployed people in Germany rose by 63,000 to 2.872 million in August compared to July due to seasonal factors. Compared to August last year, the figure is 176,000 higher, according to the Federal Employment Agency in Nuremberg.

The unemployment rate rose by 0.1 points to 6.1 percent compared to July. The Federal Employment Agency based its statistics on figures available up to August 14.

"The labor market continues to feel the effects of economic stagnation. Unemployment and underemployment continued to rise during the summer break," said Andrea Nahles, Chairwoman of the Federal Agency.

Fewer vacancies

The demand for workers in companies is also declining. According to the figures, 699,000 vacancies were registered with the employment agencies in August. That is 72,000 fewer than a year ago.

Short-time work is on the rise. Reliable data on the actual use of short-time work is available up to June. In this month, the Federal Employment Agency paid cyclical short-time working benefits to 232,000 employees. In May it was 215,000, in April 223,000.

Training market on the move

Things look more favorable on the training market. From October 2023 to August 2024, 418,000 young people registered as applicants for an apprenticeship. That was 10,000 more than in the same period last year. In August, 82,000 had found neither a training place nor an alternative. At the same time, 158,000 of the total of 502,000 apprenticeship places had not yet been filled. According to the Federal Agency, the number of unplaced applicants and the number of vacant training places will continue to fall significantly until the end of September, and the market is still on the move.