"The labour market continues to show signs of economic weakness. Unemployment continues to develop unfavourably. And companies remain reluctant to hire," said Andrea Nahles, Chairwoman of the Executive Board of the Federal Employment Agency (BA), at today's monthly press conference in Nuremberg.
Unemployment figures for June:
-5,000 to 2,914,000
Unemployment figures compared to the previous year:
+188,000
Unemployment rate compared to previous month:
unchanged at 6.2 percent
Unemployment and underemployment
Unemployment fell slightly in June 2025, by 5,000 to 2,914,000. Seasonally adjusted, it rose by 11,000 compared with the previous month. Compared to June last year, the unemployment figure is 188,000 higher. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.2 percent. Compared with the same month last year, the rate rose by 0.4 percentage points. The unemployment rate calculated by the Federal Statistical Office in accordance with the ILO short-term employment concept stood at 3.8 percent in May.
In addition to unemployment, underemployment also includes labour market policy and short-term incapacity to work, and therefore provides a more comprehensive picture. It fell by 10,000 compared with the previous month after seasonal adjustment. In June, it stood at 3,579,000. That was 40,000 more than a year ago.
Short-time work
Before initiating short-time work, companies must notify the authorities of the expected loss of working hours. According to the latest data, from 1 to 25 June inclusive, 35,000 people were reported as being on short-time work due to the economic downturn.
Current data on actual usage will be available until April 2025. According to preliminary estimates, short-time work benefits were paid to 214,000 employees this month. That was 44,000 fewer than in the previous month and 1,000 fewer than in April last year.
Short-term employment and employment
Short-term employment and employment subject to national insurance payments are hardly growing at all. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the number of people in employment (based on the domestic concept) rose by 2,000 in May 2025 compared with the previous month, after seasonal adjustment. At 46.06 million, it is 61,000 lower than in the previous year. According to projections by the Federal Employment Agency (BA), seasonally adjusted employment subject to national insurance payments rose by 1,000 between March and April 2025. Compared to the previous year, the number of people in employment rose by 46,000 to 34.91 million, with the increase attributable solely to people of foreign nationality. In April 2025, 7.6 million people were in low-paid employment, 14,000 more than in the same month of the previous year. Of these, 4.14 million were employed exclusively in low-paid jobs and 3.46 million in part-time jobs.
Labour demand
632,000 jobs were registered with the Federal Employment Agency (BA) in April – 69,000 fewer than a year ago. The BA Job Index (BA-X) – an indicator of demand for labour in Germany that takes into account both the number of registered job vacancies and new job vacancies – remained unchanged at 100 points in June 2025. Compared to the same month last year, the BA-X is down by 9 points.
Cash benefits in the event of unemployment and need for assistance
According to BA projections, 968,000 people received unemployment benefits in June 2025, 101,000 more than a year ago. The number of citizens eligible for income support was estimated at 3,929,000 in June. Compared to June 2024, this represented a decrease of 76,000 people. This means that 7.1 percent of people of working age living in Germany were in need of assistance.
Training market
Since October 2024, 396,000 applicants have registered with employment agencies and job centres for an apprenticeship, 13,000 more than in the same period last year. 172,000 of them were still not placed in June. At 455,000, the number of registered apprenticeships is 25,000 lower than in the same period last year. 211,000 apprenticeships were still available in June. However, many selection and recruitment processes are still ongoing in June. These figures therefore only allow for a preliminary assessment of the developments in the current reporting year.