Germany job vacancies, establishment size breakdown
Germany job vacancies, establishment size breakdown stood at 1,023.4 thousands in Q2 2026, according to Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Eurostat and KfW Research / ifo Institute. It is one of the indicators in the Job vacancies and skilled labour shortage table (Value · Quarterly), with a complete series running from Q4 2010 to Q2 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Job vacancies and skilled labour shortage table
| Indicator | Q2-2026 | Q1-2026 | Q4-2025 | Q3-2025 | Q2-2025 | Q1-2025 | Q4-2024 | Q3-2024 | Q2-2024 | Q1-2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany total6 | 1,023.4 | 1,153.2 | 1,259 | 1,039.8 | 1,058.4 | 1,158.4 | 1,568.3 | 1,278.8 | 1,375.2 | 1,597.4 | |
| 1 to 9 employees | 269.1 | 325.4 | 379.8 | 276.9 | 238.3 | 281.5 | 434.6 | 284.9 | 362.1 | 452.5 | |
| 10 to 19 employees | 100.8 | 131.2 | 158.7 | 107.9 | 127.7 | 131.9 | 199.7 | 162.7 | 178.2 | 201.8 |
Understanding germany job vacancies, establishment size breakdown
National vacancy totals in this series sum unfilled job openings across every establishment size tier in the German economy. The scope encompasses all surveyed workplaces actively searching for external personnel, whether positions require immediate placement or future appointment. Coverage includes both publicly advertised openings and vacancies pursued strictly through private channels, direct job postings, or personal recommendations. In contrast to the sibling rows that isolate specific headcount intervals, this series acts as the aggregate benchmark spanning micro, small, medium, and large operating units. It excludes internal workplace transfers, freelance assignments, and positions where active search activity has not yet commenced.
Interpreting these quarterly counts requires accounting for pronounced seasonal fluctuations across the calendar cycle, making year-on-year comparisons far more informative than period-on-period movements. Direct sequential changes between consecutive quarters frequently obscure broader hiring conditions due to recurring seasonal pauses in winter and summer. Early survey figures remain subject to retrospective revisions as additional responses arrive and weighting models align with full employment benchmarks. Analysts should avoid conflating this broad metric with administrative registries of notified openings, because official employment agency records capture only postings formally logged with government offices, omitting self-sourced private hiring.
Frequently asked questions
- Does this aggregate include vacancies from all employer size classes?
- Yes, the metric aggregates survey responses from across the entire employer distribution, combining micro-enterprises through large-scale operations.
- How does this series differ from administrative registries of open positions?
- This measure relies on representative employer surveys capturing all active search efforts, including private recruitment channels that bypass public employment offices entirely.
- Why are year-on-year comparisons preferred for this series?
- Evaluating figures against the corresponding quarter of the prior year removes standard seasonal hiring variations that typically distort quarter-to-quarter readings.