BA: Unemployment figures decline only slightly in June

Nuremberg. The number of unemployed people in Germany fell only slightly by 5,000 to 2.914 million in June. This is 188,000 more than in June 2024, according to the Federal Employment Agency in Nuremberg. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.2 percent compared to May. Compared to June 2024, it is 0.4 percent higher. The Federal Employment Agency used data available up to June 12 for the June statistics.

"The labor market continues to show signs of economic weakness. Unemployment continues to trend unfavorably," said Andrea Nahles, Chair of the Federal Employment Agency. "And companies' willingness to hire remains low," she added. "Employment subject to social security contributions is practically no longer growing." The job portal "Indeed" reported that the number of vacancies had fallen back to the level of four years ago. This represents a decrease of 2.2 percent in June compared to May. The economic climate is slowly improving, but this is not yet reflected in the job market.

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The Federal Employment Agency reported 632,000 job vacancies in June. That's 69,000 fewer than a year ago. 968,000 people received unemployment benefits in June, 101,000 more than a year ago. Labor market researchers expect the number of unemployed to exceed three million this summer. Normally, the number drops significantly in June due to seasonal factors, before rising during the summer break.

The apprenticeship market for the new training year continues to be highly dynamic. Since October 2024, 396,000 applicants have registered with employment agencies and job centers for a training position, 13,000 more than at the same time last year. This compares to 455,000 reported apprenticeships, 25,000 fewer than the previous year.

No significant fluctuations in short-time work are currently evident. Between June 1 and 25, 35,000 people were registered for short-time work – whether this will be taken up remains to be seen. Data on actual use is available up to April. In that month, 214,000 people received short-time work benefits – 44,000 fewer than in March and 1,000 fewer than in April of the previous year.

RND/dpa