"Unemployment and underemployment decrease in September solely for seasonal reasons. The labour market continues to lack the necessary impetus for a stronger recovery," 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 September:
 -70,000 – now 2,955,000
Unemployed persons compared to last year: 
+148,000
Unemployment compared to last month:
 -0.1 percentage points – now 6.3 percent

Unemployment and underemployment 

With the onset of the autumn upturn, unemployment fell by 70,000 to 2,955,000 in September 2025. Seasonally adjusted, it rose by 14,000 compared with the previous month. The unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 6.3 percent. Compared to September last year, the unemployment figure is 148,000 higher. The unemployment rate has increased by 0.3 percentage points compared with the same month last year. The unemployment rate calculated by the Federal Statistical Office in accordance with the ILO short-term employment concept stood at 4.0 percent in August.

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 3,000 compared with the previous month after seasonal adjustment. In September, it stood at 3,582,000. That was 19,000 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 24 September inclusive, 36,000 people were reported as being on short-time work due to the economic downturn.

Current data on actual usage is available until Juli 2025. According to preliminary estimates, short-time work benefits were paid to 199,000 employees this month. That was 4,000 fewer than in the previous month, but 5,000 more than in July of the previous year.

Short-term employment and employment

According to the Federal Statistical Office, the number of people in employment (based on the domestic concept) dropped by 8,000 in August 2025 compared with the previous month, after seasonal adjustment. At 45.95 million, it is 3,000 lower than in the previous year. According to projections by the Federal Employment Agency, seasonally adjusted employment subject to social insurance contributions rose by 8,000 between June and July 2025. Compared to the previous year, the number of people in employment rose by 39,000 to 34.77 million, with the increase attributable solely to people of foreign nationality. 7,66 million people were in marginal employment in July 2025, 9,000 fewer than in the same month last year. Of these, 4.19 million were employed exclusively in low-paid jobs and 3.47 million in part-time jobs.

Labour demand

630,000 jobs were registered with the Federal Employment Agency (BA) in September – 66,000 fewer than a year ago. The BA Job Index (BA X) – an indicator of demand for personnel in Germany that takes into account both the number of registered jobs and new registrations – remained unchanged at 98 points in September 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

1,006,000 people received unemployment benefits in September 2025 according to BA projections, 117,000 more than a year ago. The number of citizens eligible for income support was estimated at 3,854,000 in September. Compared to September 2024, this was a decrease of 119,000 people. This means that 7.0 per cent of people of working age living in Germany were in need of assistance.