Labor market - Unemployment in Hamburg stagnates
Hamburg's labor market, which has been largely stagnant for months, did not make any progress in December either. The number of unemployed remained almost unchanged, rising minimally by 82 or 0.1 percent to 82,805 compared to the previous month, as the Hamburg Employment Agency announced on Wednesday. The unemployment rate has now been at 7.6 percent for five months, but is 0.7 percentage points above the December 2022 rate. Year-on-year, the number of people without a job has increased by 10.8 percent or 8086 women and men. The statistics refer to data collected up to December 13.
The head of the employment agency, Sönke Fock, is expecting a significant increase in unemployment in January. The order of magnitude will be between 4,000 and 6,000 women and men who have lost their jobs by the end of 2023 and have to register as unemployed. "Against the backdrop of a high total employment of 1,080,000 employees, this is a relatively small number, but despite all the job vacancies and prevailing momentum, successfully finding a job is anything but a foregone conclusion, but a highly individual matter," said Fock.
Although overall employment has reached a new high - with an increase of 21,500 or 2.0 percent within one year, it is well above the national average increase of 0.7 percent - on the other hand, the average number of unemployed people has also risen by 9.5 percent compared to 2022 to almost 81,000. "Unfortunately, the usual sharp drop of several thousand unemployed people in spring and also in fall in recent years did not occur at all in 2023," said Fock. The reasons for this are that, on the one hand, the proportion of semi-skilled and unskilled unemployed is very high at 58.3% and, on the other, there is a shortage of skilled workers.
"In the past year, a total of 27,368 new jobs were reported to the Hamburg Employer Service for filling, a significant loss of 10.5 percent or 3218 vacancies compared to the annual result for 2022 with 30,586 vacancies," said Fock. He added that 93.5 percent of the reported vacancies could be filled immediately, more than 86.3 percent were aimed at specialists and managers and 89.2 percent were full-time positions.
Fock called it remarkable that the number of employees is being increased in almost all sectors of the economy. Between October 2022 and October 2023, more than 11,400 additional jobs were filled in the real estate, freelance, scientific and technical services, industry and hospitality sectors alone. Only in trade and the maintenance and repair of motor vehicles did employment fall by 3,200 or 2.2 percent to 142,400 employees.
The employers' associations Nordmetall and AGV Nord were sceptical when looking ahead to 2024. In the direction of the traffic light government in Berlin, Managing Director Nico Fickinger said: "The coalition must now remember that a new start is needed in economic and social policy." Up to now, employers in the northern German metal and electrical industry have rated the political influence on the labor market as problematic. Fickinger complained: "The traffic light coalition is really good at making it as difficult as possible for employers to create new jobs and secure existing ones."
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The Federal Employment Agency in Hamburg reported a minor increase in unemployment last December, with 82,805 individuals unemployed, an increase of 82 from the previous month. Despite the rise in unemployment, the overall employment in Hamburg has reached a new high, with an increase of 21,500 employees within a year.
The city's unemployment rate has remained stagnant at 7.6% for five months, yet it's 0.7 percentage points higher than the December 2022 rate. The increase in unemployment is particularly affecting men and women, with a year-on-year increase of 10.8% or 8086 individuals.
The Hamburg Employment Agency has reported a significant loss of job vacancies, with 3218 fewer vacancies reported in 2023 compared to 2022. Despite the high number of vacancies, Sönke Fock, the head of the employment agency, cautions that successfully finding a job is not a foregone conclusion.
Hamburg's employers are expressing concern about the future, with scepticism towards the traffic light government in Berlin. Managing Director Nico Fickinger of employers' associations Nordmetall and AGV Nord criticizes the coalition for making it difficult for employers to create new jobs and secure existing ones.
Source: www.stern.de
