Germany employment and unemployment
Germany employment and unemployment totals, featuring short-time work and reported job vacancies.
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| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 | 1992 | 1991 | 1990 | 1989 | 1988 | 1987 | 1986 | 1985 | 1984 | 1983 | 1982 | 1981 | 1980 | 1979 | 1978 | 1977 | 1976 | 1975 | 1974 | 1973 | 1972 | 1971 | 1970 | 1969 | 1968 | 1967 | 1966 | 1965 | 1964 | 1963 | 1962 | 1961 | 1960 | 1959 | 1958 | 1957 | 1956 | 1955 | 1954 | 1953 | 1952 | 1951 | 1950 | |
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| Employment1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Employed persons according to ESA 2010, Domestic concept, Absolute value2 | 45,878 | 45,960 | 45,909 | 45,622 | 45,041 | 44,965 | 45,291 | 44,878 | 44,290 | 43,686 | 43,137 | 42,756 | 42,378 | 42,065 | 41,570 | 41,099 | 40,903 | 40,851 | 40,281 | 39,608 | 39,322 | 39,362 | 39,237 | 39,666 | 39,859 | 39,971 | 39,120 | 38,495 | 38,040 | 38,057 | 38,042 | 37,879 | 37,862 | 38,360 | 38,871 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Employees subject to social security contributions, Total, Absolute value3 | 34,962,851 | 34,934,486 | 34,790,058 | 34,507,359 | 33,897,417 | 33,579,123 | 33,518,289 | 32,964,195 | 32,234,350 | 31,508,445 | 30,823,092 | 30,196,720 | 29,713,028 | 29,341,001 | 28,687,167 | 28,008,478 | 27,728,916 | 27,746,953 | 27,134,109 | 26,535,403 | 26,350,884 | 26,589,515 | 27,001,061 | 27,713,508 | 27,882,132 | 27,878,441 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Employees subject to social security contributions, Secondary sector, Absolute value | 9,215,762 | 9,360,773 | 9,424,522 | 9,399,944 | 9,344,316 | 9,394,764 | 9,479,355 | 9,348,736 | 9,146,276 | 9,027,621 | 8,937,690 | 8,860,137 | 8,783,222 | 8,739,329 | 8,580,098 | 8,422,420 | 8,514,315 | 8,653,983 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Employees subject to social security contributions, Tertiary sector excluding hiring out of labour, Absolute value | 24,943,662 | 24,711,357 | 24,429,805 | 24,135,272 | 23,602,453 | 23,277,311 | 23,042,771 | 22,532,190 | 21,979,651 | 21,407,450 | 20,839,972 | 20,331,817 | 19,957,875 | 19,603,781 | 19,094,006 | 18,696,495 | 18,453,977 | 18,201,101 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Employees subject to social security contributions, N 78.2, N 78.3 Hiring out of labour, Absolute value | 556,322 | 614,862 | 687,241 | 721,472 | 701,869 | 660,163 | 750,569 | 840,020 | 868,421 | 834,456 | 806,461 | 769,906 | 742,857 | 772,989 | 793,779 | 674,610 | 545,583 | 675,587 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Persons working exclusively in low-paid part-time jobs, Total, Absolute value | 4,121,366 | 4,180,239 | 4,197,977 | 4,124,569 | 4,100,721 | 4,289,708 | 4,578,952 | 4,671,481 | 4,740,495 | 4,803,861 | 4,855,714 | 5,029,136 | 5,016,787 | 4,980,677 | 5,013,547 | 5,024,939 | 5,043,197 | 4,993,722 | 4,977,929 | 4,927,763 | 4,859,988 | 4,833,729 | 4,362,470 | 4,256,432 | 4,245,484 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Short-time work1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Short-time workers, Social Security Code III, Absolute value1 | 297,318 | 298,069 | 240,846 | 425,571 | 1,851,802 | 2,938,786 | 145,276 | 117,659 | 113,552 | 127,811 | 129,625 | 133,604 | 190,845 | 170,529 | 157,882 | 502,682 | 1,144,407 | 101,540 | 68,317 | 66,981 | 125,505 | 150,575 | 195,353 | 206,767 | 122,942 | 86,052 | 118,647 | 115,205 | 182,853 | 277,294 | 198,580 | 372,288 | 948,363 | 653,016 | 1,761,232 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Short-time workers, basis for entitlement according to section 96 only, Social Security Code III, Absolute value | 210,112 | 210,219 | 146,892 | 336,638 | 1,744,098 | 2,847,044 | 59,821 | 25,060 | 24,267 | 42,086 | 44,410 | 49,429 | 76,522 | 66,534 | 100,339 | 429,138 | 1,078,367 | 57,692 | 26,405 | 54,005 | 103,270 | 122,263 | 167,074 | 174,047 | 93,509 | 58,656 | 97,340 | 75,071 | 127,745 | 204,353 | 151,567 | 331,603 | 890,227 | 567,446 | 1,422,718 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unemployment2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unemployment registered pursuant to section 16 Social Security Code III, Social Security Code III and Social Security Code II, Absolute value1 | 2,948,092 | 2,787,112 | 2,608,672 | 2,418,133 | 2,613,489 | 2,695,444 | 2,266,720 | 2,340,082 | 2,532,837 | 2,690,975 | 2,794,664 | 2,898,388 | 2,950,338 | 2,897,126 | 2,976,488 | 3,238,965 | 3,414,992 | 3,258,954 | 3,760,586 | 4,487,305 | 4,860,909 | 4,381,281 | 4,376,795 | 4,061,345 | 3,852,564 | 3,889,695 | 4,100,499 | 4,280,630 | 4,384,456 | 3,965,064 | 3,611,921 | 3,698,057 | 3,419,141 | 2,978,570 | 2,602,203 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unemployment registered pursuant to section 16 Social Security Code III, Social Security Code III, Absolute value | 1,099,432 | 980,021 | 874,560 | 808,069 | 998,640 | 1,136,762 | 826,959 | 801,929 | 855,431 | 821,824 | 858,610 | 933,224 | 969,619 | 902,342 | 892,502 | 1,075,851 | 1,190,197 | 1,006,750 | 1,245,531 | 1,662,700 | 2,091,008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unemployment registered pursuant to section 16 Social Security Code III, Social Security Code III and Social Security Code II, Rate1 | 6.3 | 6 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 5 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 6.1 | 6.4 | 6.7 | 6.9 | 6.8 | 7.1 | 7.7 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 9 | 10.8 | 11.7 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 9.8 | 9.4 | 9.6 | 10.5 | 11.1 | 11.4 | 10.4 | 9.4 | 9.6 | 8.9 | 7.7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unemployment registered pursuant to section 16 Social Security Code III, West Germany, Social Security Code III and Social Security Code II, Rate | 5.9 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 5 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 5.9 | 6 | 6.6 | 6.9 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 9.1 | 9.9 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 7.6 | 8.6 | 9.2 | 9.6 | 8.9 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 7.3 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 7.2 | 7.9 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 9 | 9.3 | 9.1 | 9.1 | 7.5 | 5.5 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 7.6 | 8.4 | 9.5 | 10.4 | 11 | |
| Reported vacancies1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reported vacancies, total, Total, Absolute value | 631,814 | 693,676 | 760,608 | 844,796 | 705,605 | 613,445 | 774,345 | 796,427 | 730,551 | 655,490 | 568,743 | 490,310 | 456,975 | 477,528 | 466,288 | 359,349 | 300,641 | 389,048 | 423,440 | 354,288 | 255,758 | 206,850 | 269,836 | 374,963 | 434,037 | 434,702 |
Latest reading
The series on this page is annual and runs from 1991 to 2025. Source: Deutsche Bundesbank.
About this data
Germany employment and unemployment totals, featuring short-time work and reported job vacancies. The dataset provides annual averages for employed persons according to ESA 2010, employees subject to social security contributions by sector, and persons in low-paid part-time jobs. It includes registered unemployment levels and rates for West Germany and the whole country, alongside reported vacancies and short-time workers under the Social Security Code. The series are published by the Deutsche Bundesbank, with data available since 1950.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the latest figure for Germany employment and unemployment?
- The latest reading is 45,878 thousands, for 2025. That is −0.2% from 2024.
- Is Germany employment and unemployment at a high or a low right now?
- The reading of 45,878 thousands is the lowest since 2022.
- How far back does the Germany employment and unemployment data go?
- The series on this page is annual and runs from 1991 to 2025. Source: Deutsche Bundesbank. Every series in the table can be charted over its full history and downloaded as CSV or Excel.
- What does the Germany employment and unemployment table measure?
- The Germany employment and unemployment table tracks annual averages of the domestic labour market. It measures the total number of employed persons, employees paying social security contributions, registered unemployment, reported job vacancies, and short-time workers.
- Which breakdowns are available for Germany employment and unemployment statistics?
- Germany employment figures are broken down into employees subject to social security contributions across the secondary and tertiary sectors. The statistics also separate out persons working exclusively in low-paid part-time jobs and provide unemployment rates specifically for West Germany.
- How is Germany short-time work defined in this dataset?
- Germany short-time work (Kurzarbeit) is defined by the number of short-time workers receiving benefits under the Social Security Code III. The table includes both total short-time workers and those whose entitlement is based specifically on section 96 of the code.