“The current labour market shows little sign of momentum. At the beginning of the year, unemployment increased significantly for seasonal reasons, exceeding the three million mark once again.” said Andrea Nahles, Chair of the Executive Board of the Federal Employment Agency of Germany (BA), at today’s monthly press conference in Nuremberg.
Unemployment figures for January:
+177,000 to 3,085,000
Unemployed persons compared to last year:;
+92,000
Unemployment compared to last month:
+0.4 percentage points to 6.6%
Unemployment and underemployment
Due to the winter break, unemployment increased by 177,000 to 3,085,000 in January 2026. Seasonally adjusted, it remained without change compared to the previous month. The unemployment rate increased by 0.4 percentage points to 6.6%. Compared to January last year, the unemployment figure is 92,000 higher. The unemployment rate has increased by 0.2 percentage points compared to the same month last year. The unemployment rate calculated by the German Federal Statistical Office in accordance with the ILO short-term employment concept stood at 3.6% in August.
In addition to unemployment, underemployment also includes labour market policy and short-term incapacity for work, and therefore provides a more comprehensive picture. Seasonally adjusted, it dropped by 4,000 in January compared to the previous month. At 3,705,000, it was 8,000 lower than a year ago.
Short-time work
Before the start of short-time work, companies are required to notify the authorities of the expected loss of working hours. According to the latest data from 1 September to and including 26 September, 28,000 people were reported as being on short-time work due to the economic downturn.
Current data on actual usage is available up to November 2025. According to preliminary estimates, short-time work benefits were paid to 204,000 employees this month. That was 6,000 more than in the previous month, but 61,000 fewer than in November of the previous year.
Gainful employment and persons employed
According to the German Federal Statistical Office, the number of people who were gainfully employed (based on the domestic concept) dropped by marginally 6,000 in August 2025 compared to the previous month, after seasonal adjustment. At 46.04 million, it is 74,000 lower than in the previous year. According to projections by the Federal Employment Agency of Germany, seasonally adjusted employment subject to social insurance contributions dropped slightly (- 5,000) from October 2025 to November 2025. Compared to the previous year, it was 17,000 lower at 35.21 million persons employed. In July 2025, 7.63 million people were in marginal employment, 30,000 fewer than in the same month last year. Of these, 4.08 million were employed exclusively in marginal jobs and 3.56 million in secondary marginal jobs.
Labour demand
598,000 jobs were registered with the Federal Employment Agency of Germany (BA) in September, 34,000 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 job vacancies and new registrations – dropped by 1 point to 100 points in January 2026. Compared to the same month last year, the BA-X is down by 5 points
Cash benefits in the event of unemployment and need for assistance
1,142,000 people received unemployment benefits in September 2026 according to BA projections, 117,000 more than a year ago. The number of citizens who are capable of gainful employment and eligible for citizen’s benefit was estimated at 3,826,000 in January. Compared to January 2025, this represented a drop of 137,000 people. This means that 7.0 percent of people of working age living in Germany were in need of assistance.
Training market
In the follow-up placement period from October 2025 to January 2026, 84,000 registered applicants were looking for training places with immediate start dates. That was 12,000 more than last year. This is contrasted with 64,000 registered company training places, 15,000 fewer than in the previous year. In January 2026, 41,000 applicants were without a place, and a further 23,000 were still looking for a training place despite having alternatives. At the same time, 13,000 apprenticeship positions were still unfilled.
For the new 2025/2026 reporting year, 2 percent more applicants have been registered so far than in the same period last year. The number of apprenticeships in companies is 13 percent below last year’s figure. However, the training market is still very much in flux in January.