The fall in seasonal unemployment is relatively mild.
During the spring season, where jobs in outdoor industries usually pick up, unemployment went up by 25,000 people in May. This is a stark contrast to what normally occurs. According to the data, there were 179,000 more unemployed individuals than the previous year. The unemployment rate fell by 0.2% in comparison to the previous month, reaching 5.8%. However, there was a slight increase of 0.3% compared to the same time last year.
Andrea Nahles observes that the spring revival has not made much progress this year. This sentiment is echoed by Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil, who also notes a weaker performance than normal. Nevertheless, the employment agency data suggests a stable labor market, following a slight growth in the German economy in the first quarter.
The number of socially insured employees for March saw a seasonal drop of 3,000 to 34.81 million. In comparison to the previous year, there was a rise of 134,000 employees, largely due to foreign nationals.
At the employment agency, 702,000 job openings were reported in May, which is 65,000 fewer than a year prior. Despite this, the shortage of skilled workers remains at a record high, and many more companies will struggle with this issue in the near future, warns KfW's chief economist, Fritzi Köhler-Geib.
Annina Hering, an expert in labor markets at Indeed, comments on the vibrant labor market despite the economic challenges. She emphasizes that the real threat to the German economy is not the temporary rise in unemployment, but the lack of enough skilled workers.
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In Nuremberg, the unemployment rate also showed a decrease, aligning with the national trend. The Federal Employment Agency reported a decrease in the unemployment rate in various regions of Germany during the spring revival. This decrease in unemployment rate is a positive sign for the upcoming summer season, as Andrea Nahles and other labor market experts had hoped. Despite the decrease, the unemployment rate remains higher than pre-pandemic levels, indicating that the labor market recovery is still in progress.
