"Unemployment and underemployment continued to decline in October. Employment growth remains weak and demand for new employees is low. Overall, the autumn upturn has been sluggish so far," said Andrea Nahles, Chair of the Executive Board of the Federal Employment Agency (BA), at today's monthly press conference in Nuremberg.

Unemployment figures for October:
-44,000 to 2,911,000
Unemployment figures compared to the previous year:
+120,000
Unemployment rate compared to previous month:
-0.1 percentage points to 6.2 percent

Unemployment, underemployment, and economic inactivity 

In the wake of the autumn upturn, unemployment fell by 44,000 to 2,911,000 in October 2025. Seasonally adjusted, it remained virtually unchanged compared with the previous month at - 1,000. The unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 6.2 percent. Compared to October last year, the unemployment figure is 120,000 higher. The unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points compared with the same month last year. The unemployment rate calculated by the Federal Statistical Office according to the ILO concept of employment was 4.1 percent in September.

In addition to unemployment, underemployment also includes labor market policy and short-term incapacity to work, and therefore provides a more comprehensive picture. Seasonally adjusted, it fell by 14,000 compared with the previous month. In October, it remained virtually unchanged compared to the same month last year at 3,554,000. 

Short-time work

Before starting short-time work, companies must submit a notification of the expected loss of working hours. According to current data, from October 1 through October 26, 37,000 people were registered for short-time work due to economic reasons.
Current data on actual usage is available until August 2025. According to preliminary projected data, economic short-time work benefits were paid to 171,000 employees this month. This is 32,000 fewer than in the previous month, but 6,000 more than in August of the previous year.

Gainful employment and occupation

According to the Federal Statistical Office, after seasonal adjustment, the number of people in employment (based on the domestic concept) fell by 20,000 in September 2025 compared with the previous month. At 46.08 million people, this is 42,000 lower than in the previous year. According to projections by the Federal Employment Agency (BA), seasonally adjusted employment subject to social insurance contributions fell by 17,000 between July and August 2025. Compared to the previous year, it was 19,000 higher at 34.94 million employees. 7.63 million people were in low-wage employment in August 2025, 14,000 fewer than in the same month last year. Of these, 4.13 million were employed exclusively and 3.5 million were employed in low-wage side jobs.

Labor demand

In October, 623,000 jobs were registered with the BA, 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 job postings – fell by 1 point to 97 points in October 2025. Compared to the same month last year, the BA-X is down 10 points.

Cash benefits for unemployment and those in need of assistance

According to projections by the Federal Employment Agency (BA) in October 2025, 984,000 people received unemployment benefits, 104,000 more than a year ago. The number of citizens eligible for welfare benefits was estimated to be 3,828,000 in October. This represents a decrease of 134,000 people compared to October 2024. 7.0 percent of working age people living in Germany were therefore in need of assistance.