Labor market - Number of unemployed rises by 31,000 in December
The number of unemployed people in Germany rose by 31,000 to 2.637 million in December 2023 compared to November, mainly due to seasonal factors. The unemployment rate rose by 0.1 points to 5.7 percent, the Federal Employment Agency announced on Wednesday. Compared to the same time last year, the number of unemployed rose by 183,000. The Federal Employment Agency based its statistics on data available up to December 13.
"With the start of the winter break, unemployment and underemployment increased in December, as is usual in this month," said Andrea Nahles, Chairwoman of the Federal Agency in Nuremberg. There was also a slight increase in short-time working. However, employment also continued to grow and companies' demand for new staff did not weaken further in December." In December, the Federal Employment Agency recorded 713,000 job vacancies, 68,000 fewer than a year earlier. Demand for workers has been falling at a high level since the end of 2022.
Nahles emphasized that 2023 was one of the years with the lowest unemployment rate since German reunification. However, the weak economy has left its mark on the labor market. On average, 2,609 people were unemployed in the year, 191,000 more than the average for the previous year. Short-time work remained at a moderate level in a long-term comparison.
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The rise in unemployment in December was announced by Andrea Nahles, the Chairwoman of the Federal Employment Agency, based in Nuremberg. Despite the increase, Nahles noted that 2023 had one of the lowest unemployment rates since German reunification. The Federal Employment Agency reported that the unemployment rate in Germany, specifically in the labor market, increased by 0.1 points to 5.7%, leading to an additional 31,000 unemployed individuals in December.
Source: www.stern.de
