The unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage points month on month to 6.2 percent in May, the latest data from Germany's Employment Agency (Bundesagentur fĂĽr Arbeit, BA) in Nuremberg showed on Wednesday.
The number of unemployed people in Germany fell by 12,000 to 2.919 million in May from the previous month,Â
But numbers are up when compared to May 2024: there were around 197,000 more unemployed people in May 2025 than a year earlier.
"The labour market is not getting the tailwind it needs to reverse the trend. Therefore, we expect unemployment figures to continue to rise during the summer," BA head Andrea Nahles said on Wednesday.
Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Bärbel Bas (SPD) also expressed concern: "The tense economic situation is particularly evident in industry. Jobs are currently at risk in many companies," she said, adding that Germany urgently needed "economic policy stimulus."
The number of so-called underemployed people, which includes not only the unemployed but also participants in labour market policy measures and those on short-term sick leave, stood at 3.602 million in May, the Bundesagentur fĂĽr Arbeit said. This was approximately 58,000 more than in May 2024.
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Analyst Martin MĂĽller of the KfW banking group thinks a turnaround this year is unlikely. "The labour market continues to suffer from the German economy's sales and cost problems," he said, explaining that due to a long period of stagnation, many companies are hesitant to hire new staff.
However, there is "the prospect" that the investment packages announced by the government will trigger a "noticeable economic stimulus" in the coming years, he said.
Bas also pointed to the measures announced by the black-red coalition. The labour market figures "also show how important the new government's economic stimulus and investment programme is," the minister said. Among other things, the government is planning a €500 billion special fund for investments in infrastructure and climate protection.
Businesses, meanwhile, called for lower social security contributions and criticised government plans to raise the minimum wage. A "government-led and thus misguided wage policy" would "nip any emerging easing in the labour market in the bud," said Rainer Dulger, President of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations. Lower social spending is "the better path to a healthy labour market," he added.
And the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) board member Anja Piel said continuing education was "the safest means to secure jobs" in uncertain times, adding that it was the right time for a "qualification offensive" by the Bundesagentur fĂĽr Arbeit and job centres.
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