It seems like Germany’s economy will take some time to recover this year. In May 2024, unemployment in Germany increased more than expected, as reported by the Federal Labour Office. The number of unemployed people rose by 25,000 last month, whereas experts had predicted a rise of only about 10,000. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained constant at 5.9 percent.
Despite the challenges, the labour market showed resilience, with employers retaining their workers despite a shortage of skilled workers. This means that employers are likely to continue maximizing the output from their existing employees before hiring new ones when economic activity improves.
In May 2024, there were about 700,000 job vacancies in Germany, which was 65,000 less than in May 2023. While there were 200 professions facing a skills shortage in May 2023, the number has reduced to 183 in May 2024. The shortage of skills in the structural engineering and façade construction space has improved, and the situation has also improved in the aerospace tech space.
The unemployment rate rose to 3.4 percent in Germany in March 2024, from 2.9 percent in March 2023. As of March, there were 1.42 million unemployed people in the country, which was an 18.1 percent increase compared to March 2023. In March 2024, the number of employed persons had risen by 0.2 percent, or by 100,000, compared with March 2023.
