- Unemployment rate rises to 6% in July
The number of unemployed in Germany has risen more sharply than usual for this time of year in July. According to the Federal Employment Agency, the number of people without jobs increased by 82,000 compared to the previous month, reaching 2.809 million. The unemployment rate stood at 6.0 percent, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from June.
The economic momentum of the German economy has currently flattened again, according to the monthly report of the Federal Employment Agency. "The weak economic development is burdening the labor market. Unemployment and underemployment have risen more than usual at the beginning of the summer break," said board member Daniel Terzenbach in a statement. Compared to the same month last year, the number of unemployed people even increased by 192,000.
At the same time, the number of vacant jobs reported to the Federal Employment Agency also decreased. 703,000 open positions were registered, 69,000 fewer than a year ago.
The Federal Employment Agency still sees movement in the training market. 121,000 applicants had not yet found a training place or an alternative training opportunity in July. On the other hand, there are 204,000 reported open training positions at companies. The numbers are expected to decrease further over the summer months.
According to current data from the Federal Employment Agency, 58,000 people were registered for short-time work due to the economic situation from July 1 to 25 - a good third more than in the previous month. Whether the short-time work will actually be taken up is unclear. With the notification, companies merely report the expected loss of work.
The increased unemployment rate in Germany has led to an uptick in news reports, with many outlets discussing the impact on the labor market. The heavy economic strain is also causing a surge in news coverage about the potential rising number of people seeking short-time work.
