Number of reported job vacancies in Germany
Number of reported job vacancies in Germany stood at 631,814 Number in 2025, according to Deutsche Bundesbank. It is one of the indicators in the Labour market (annual) table (Value · Annual), with a complete series running from 2000 to 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Labour market (annual) table
| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reported vacancies | |||||||||||
| 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 |
Understanding number of reported job vacancies in Germany
The absolute volume of unfilled positions officially logged by employers with the federal employment agencies defines this overall metric. It captures immediate labor demand across the entire economy, encompassing everything from highly specialized permanent roles to temporary manual labor contracts. Because this total relies purely on voluntary employer notifications to state brokers, it serves as an administrative proxy for corporate expansion and hiring intent, differing from the unemployment aggregates which track the supply side of the labor market.
Given the annual frequency, the severe monthly swings tied to seasonal recruitment pushes—like holiday retail or summer tourism—are smoothed out, making year-on-year observations the most effective way to gauge structural labor shortages. The data is subject to constant minor revisions as agencies scrub their databases of filled or abandoned postings. A major structural flaw in treating this series as a perfect mirror of economic health is the varying propensity of different sectors to use state agencies. Many specialized or senior roles are exclusively handled by private headhunters or internal networks, meaning this absolute value structurally undercounts total vacancies and heavily skews towards roles historically filled via state intermediation.
Frequently asked questions
- Are all open jobs in the country legally required to be included in this count?
- No, the inclusion depends on enterprises voluntarily reporting their open positions to the state employment agencies.
- Does this total include temporary and part-time positions alongside permanent roles?
- Yes, any unfilled position formally logged with the authorities is captured, regardless of the contract type.
- Why might this absolute value underestimate the actual number of open positions in the economy?
- Many enterprises rely exclusively on private recruiters, online portals, or internal networks, bypassing the state agencies entirely.