- Increase in Unemployment in Rhineland-Palatinate - DGB Advocates Intervention
Over the past three months, unemployment in Rhineland-Pfalz has seen an increment. In August, an estimated 125,800 people, both males and females, were jobless, which is a 3,400 increase from the previous month, as reported by the Saarbrücken-based regional branch of the German Federal Employment Agency. This led to an unemployment rate of 5.5% in August, a rise from 5.4% the previous month and 5.1% in August of the preceding year.The data considered is up to August 14th.
As per Heidrun Schulz, head of the Rhineland-Pfalz-Saarland regional directorate, the number of jobs reported to employment agencies and job centers in shared facilities has significantly decreased by around 12% over the past four weeks when compared to July. The agency also reported a decrease of 26.4% compared to the previous year.
7,400 Vocational Training Opportunities Yet to be Filled
Approximately 9,000 individuals registered as unemployed in August, a reduction of 9% from four weeks ago. However, the number of re-employed individuals after unemployment also saw a substantial decrease, around 6,100, which is approximately one-sixth less than July.
In total, 36,500 job vacancies were recorded, a decrease of 400 from the previous month and over 12% less than a year ago. According to the agency, temporary work had the most vacancies with 6,830, followed by 4,850 in retail and 4,280 in health and social care.
Looking at the vocational training market, there are currently 4,000 young individuals seeking placements, with 7,400 vacant training positions yet to be filled. This means that for every 100 unfilled apprenticeship positions, there are 54 young individuals still without a placement. "Even now, young individuals still have excellent chances in the training market," emphasized Schulz from the regional directorate. "It is by no means too late."
DGB Urges State Support for Companies
"The labor market is under pressure," commented Susanne Wingertszahn, head of the DGB state association, on the development. The challenging situation in certain industrial sectors has now started affecting the labor market. This affects the metal, glass, plastics, and chemical industries particularly, where there's a noticeable decrease in the number of employees. According to the trade union, high energy prices are the main cause of this, and energy-intensive companies should thus be specifically supported by the state, both politically and financially.
"The state government continues to support employees and those on the fringes of the labor market in transition, as changes in one's professional environment often come with fears and uncertainties," assured Minister President Alexander Schweitzer (SPD). "We take this very seriously." The state government referred to numerous funding programs and projects, as well as the work of the transformation agency with coaching offers.
Publication Dates for Labor Market Figures
(No changes in the text)
The unemployment rate in Rhineland-Pfalz increased to 5.5% in August, a significant rise from 5.1% the prior year. Despite the reduction of 9% in unemployment registrations, there are still 7,400 vocational training opportunities remaining unfilled.
