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. An annual average of 2.609 million people were unemployed, 191,000 more than the previous year's average. Short-time work remained at a moderate level in a long-term comparison.
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- Despite the increase in unemployment, Andrea Nahles, Chairwoman of the Federal Employment Agency in Nuremberg, noted that 2023 was one of the years with the lowest unemployment rate since German reunification.
- The announcement of the 31,000 increase in unemployed individuals in December by the Federal Employment Agency drew attention to the challenging state of the German labor market, with Nahles acknowledging the impact of the weak economy.
- In her role as the head of the Federal Employment Agency, Andrea Nahles mentioned that the number of job vacancies in December dropped compared to the same time last year, revealing a decline in demand for workers in Germany's labor market.
Source: www.stern.de
