Germany labour market leading indicators, monthly
The two survey-based indicators that lead the German labour market by about three months: the ifo Employment Barometer, built from firms' hiring plans in manufacturing, construction, trade and services, and the IAB Labour Market Barometer, whose two components read the unemployment outlook and the employment outlook separately.
| Indicator | 08-2026 | 07-2026 | 06-2026 | 05-2026 | 04-2026 | 03-2026 | 02-2026 | 01-2026 | 12-2025 | 11-2025 | 10-2025 | 09-2025 | 08-2025 | 07-2025 | 06-2025 | 05-2025 | 04-2025 | 03-2025 | 02-2025 | 01-2025 | 12-2024 | 11-2024 | 10-2024 | 09-2024 | 08-2024 | 07-2024 | 06-2024 | 05-2024 | 04-2024 | 03-2024 | 02-2024 | 01-2024 | 12-2023 | 11-2023 | 10-2023 | 09-2023 | 08-2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment barometer4 | 94.8 | 93 | 92.3 | 93.9 | 91.4 | 93.4 | 93.1 | 93.4 | 92 | 92.5 | 93.5 | 92.5 | 93.7 | 94 | 93.6 | 95.1 | 94 | 92.8 | 93 | 93.4 | 92.6 | 93.5 | 93.7 | 94 | 94.6 | 95.2 | 95.7 | 96.1 | 96 | 96.4 | 95 | 95.6 | 96.8 | 96.1 | 96.3 | 95.9 | 96.9 | |
| Employment expectations: manufacturing | -9.66 | -18.33 | -17.84 | -18.34 | -20.39 | -19.09 | -19.4 | -20.74 | -21.32 | -20.91 | -19.3 | -17.84 | -17.61 | -18.32 | -20.73 | -15.15 | -16.42 | -21.03 | -19.4 | -21.71 | -21.5 | -18.98 | -18.64 | -17.93 | -15.52 | -11.16 | -10.53 | -11.96 | -12.43 | -8.97 | -13.48 | -11.55 | -11.67 | -11.16 | -13.05 | -10.05 | -8.3 | |
| Employment expectations: construction | -1.52 | -1.1 | 0.04 | -0.12 | -0.18 | 0.59 | 2.47 | 0.89 | 1.82 | 5.21 | -0.28 | 1.16 | 0.47 | 1.18 | 1.1 | -2.41 | -3.23 | -1.39 | -4.58 | -3.13 | -2.13 | -1.97 | -0.2 | 0.15 | -0.34 | -1.44 | -5.83 | -6.75 | -5.49 | -8.42 | -6.6 | -7.18 | -4.02 | -7.99 | -6.21 | -6.94 | -6.06 | |
| Employment expectations: trade | -12.82 | -14.99 | -17.81 | -14.6 | -16.92 | -15.93 | -13.91 | -15.57 | -16.54 | -14.37 | -14.7 | -13.84 | -11.82 | -13.99 | -10.81 | -13.6 | -11.92 | -12.93 | -15.91 | -15.57 | -16.54 | -16.37 | -16.7 | -17.84 | -16.82 | -14.99 | -12.81 | -10.6 | -11.92 | -9.93 | -12.91 | -11.57 | -7.54 | -9.37 | -9.7 | -8.84 | -9.82 | |
| Employment expectations: services | -0.37 | -2.56 | -4.87 | 0.56 | -7.38 | -0.71 | -2.38 | -0.15 | -5.14 | -4.1 | -0.62 | -5.28 | -1.37 | 0.44 | -0.87 | 3.56 | -0.38 | -2.71 | -1.38 | 0.85 | -2.14 | -0.1 | 0.38 | 1.72 | 2.63 | 2.44 | 4.13 | 5.56 | 5.62 | 5.29 | 2.62 | 3.85 | 6.86 | 4.9 | 6.38 | 3.72 | 6.63 | |
| IAB Labour Market Barometer2 | 99.5 | 99.5 | 99.6 | 99.6 | 99.6 | 99.6 | 99.6 | 100.1 | 100.1 | 100.3 | 100.1 | 100.4 | 100.1 | 99.8 | 99.4 | 99.2 | 99.1 | 98.9 | 98.9 | 99 | 99.4 | 99.6 | 99.7 | 99.9 | 99.9 | 100 | 100 | 99.7 | 100.3 | 100 | 99.7 | 99.7 | 99.9 | 99.6 | 99.8 | 99.7 | 100.2 | |
| Component A: unemployment outlook | 99.5 | 99.5 | 99.3 | 99.1 | 99 | 98.7 | 98.8 | 99.7 | 99.9 | 100 | 100 | 100.3 | 99.7 | 99.3 | 98.3 | 98.1 | 97.8 | 97.5 | 97.6 | 97.5 | 97.9 | 98 | 98.1 | 98.5 | 98.5 | 98.2 | 98.3 | 97.8 | 98.6 | 98 | 97.7 | 97.2 | 97.5 | 97.4 | 97.3 | 97.3 | 97.6 | |
| Component B: employment outlook | 99.4 | 99.5 | 99.9 | 100.1 | 100.1 | 100.4 | 100.4 | 100.4 | 100.2 | 100.5 | 100.1 | 100.5 | 100.5 | 100.2 | 100.4 | 100.2 | 100.4 | 100.3 | 100.2 | 100.5 | 100.9 | 101.1 | 101.3 | 101.2 | 101.2 | 101.7 | 101.6 | 101.5 | 101.9 | 102 | 101.7 | 102.2 | 102.2 | 101.8 | 102.2 | 102.1 | 102.7 |
Latest reading
Employment barometer stood at 94.8 in Aug 2026. That is +1.9% from Jul 2026 and +1.2% from a year earlier. The series on this page is monthly and runs from Jan 2002 to Aug 2026. Source: ifo Institute and Institute for Employment Research (IAB).
- Latest
- 94.8
- Aug 2026
- vs previous period
- +1.9%
- Jul 2026
- vs a year earlier
- +1.2%
About this data
The two survey-based indicators that lead the German labour market by about three months: the ifo Employment Barometer, built from firms' hiring plans in manufacturing, construction, trade and services, and the IAB Labour Market Barometer, whose two components read the unemployment outlook and the employment outlook separately. Both are balance measures around a neutral level, so they are read against that level rather than in units.
