“There is hardly any change to be seen in the labour market. Unemployment is falling only slightly, and employment subject to social insurance contributions is continuing its slight downward trend”, said Andrea Nahles, Chair of the Executive Board of the Federal Employment Agency of Germany (BA), today at the monthly press conference in Nuremberg.

Unemployment figures for June:
-15.000 auf 2.936.000
Unemployed persons compared to last year:
+22.000
Unemployment compared to last month:
-0.1 percentage points – now 6.2%

Unemployment and underemployment 

Unemployment fell by 15,000 to 2,936,000 in June 2026. On a seasonally adjusted basis, it fell by 1,000 compared with the previous month. The unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 6.2 per cent. Compared with June last year, the number of unemployed is 22,000 higher; however, the unemployment rate has not changed year-on-year. The unemployment rate calculated by the Federal Statistical Office in accordance with the ILO short-term employment concept stood at 3.7 percent in May.
In addition to unemployment, underemployment also takes labour market policy and short-term incapacity for work into account, and, therefore, provides a more comprehensive picture. Seasonally adjusted, it fell by 8,000 in June compared with the previous month. At 3,605,000, it was 19,000 higher 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 to 24 June inclusive, 26,000 people were reported as being on short-time work due to the economic downturn.
Current data on actual usage is available until April 2026. According to preliminary estimates, short-time work benefits were paid to 133,000 employees this month. That was 17,000 fewer than the previous month and 101,000 fewer than a year ago.

Gainful employment and persons employed

According to the Federal Statistical Office, the number of people in employment (based on the domestic concept) rose by 8,000 in May 2026 compared with the previous month, after seasonal adjustment. At 45.83 million, it is 177,000 lower than in the previous year. According to projections by the Federal Employment Agency of Germany (BA), seasonally adjusted employment subject to national insurance payments rose by 5,000 between March and April 2026. Compared to the previous year, it was 71,000 lower at 34.84 million persons employed. 7.55 million people were in marginal employment in April 2026, 49,000 fewer than in the same month of the previous year. Of these, 4.05 million were employed exclusively in marginal jobs and 3.5 million in secondary marginal jobs.

Labour demand

Overall, demand for labour has stabilised at a low level. 648,000 jobs were registered with the Federal Employment Agency (BA) in April – 16,000 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 103 points in June 2026. Compared to the same month last year, the BA-X is 3 points higher.

Cash benefits in the event of unemployment and need for assistance

According to BA projections, 1,052,000 people received unemployment benefits in June 2026, 90,000 more than a year ago. The number of persons eligible for the basic income scheme was estimated at 3,804,000 in June. Compared to June 2025, this represented a decrease of 104,000 people. This means that 7.0 percent of people of working age living in Germany were in need of assistance.

Training market

Since October 2025, 400,000 applicants have registered with employment agencies and job centres for an apprenticeship training position, 1 percent more than in the same period last year. 181,000 had not found either an apprenticeship or an alternative by June 2026. The statistics also show that 409,000 apprenticeship training positions have been registered. Due to procedural changes, the number of apprenticeship training positions is currently not fully reflected in the statistics. According to estimates, the year-on-year decline for May 2026 was -6 per cent. The placement of young people in registered apprenticeship training positions is not affected by the statistically incomplete picture. Complete data is expected to be available again from July. The training market is still in flux at the moment. Over the summer months, many more young people will sign apprenticeship contracts and companies will fill their apprenticeship vacancies.