Status: 03.01.2022 10:43 a.m.
The number of people in employment in Germany rose again in 2021 after the corona-related decline in the recession year 2020 – but only by 7,000. The service sector is almost solely responsible for the increase.
Regardless of the ongoing corona pandemic, the number of people in employment in Germany rose again last year: to 44.9 million. However, that is only 7,000 more than in the previous year 2020, as the Federal Statistical Office announced.
In 2020, the corona crisis ended the 14-year increase in employment and led to a decrease of 370,000 people. “The increase in employment that has continued since 2006 would probably have come to an end soon, even without the Corona crisis, as the potential labor force is dwindling due to demographic change,” emphasized the statisticians. “This development is currently being compensated less and less by a higher labor force participation of the domestic population as well as the immigration of foreign workers.”
The developments in the individual economic sectors differ widely. The service providers saw an increase in employment of 94,000 or 0.3 percent to around 33.7 million people. In 2020 there was a minus of 197,000 or 0.6 percent. The greatest increases were in the area of public service providers, education, health with 249,000 and in the area of information and communication with 33,000. Both areas were able to achieve growth in the crisis year 2020.
Fewer workers in industry
In the case of corporate service providers, which include temporary workers, there was an increase of 33,000 or 0.5 percent, which, however, could not make up for the decline from the previous year. A decrease of 176,000 people (minus 1.8 percent) was registered in the trade, transport, and hospitality sector, following a minus of 218,000 in 2020.
Outside the service sector, employment fell overall: in the manufacturing sector (excluding construction) it fell by 96,000 or 1.2 percent to around 8.1 million. With an increase of 31,000 people in employment (plus 1.2 percent) to around 2.6 million, the construction industry “continued to provide very positive impulses as evidence of the ongoing construction activity,” according to statisticians. In agriculture, forestry and fishing, 22,000 fewer people were employed than in 2020, which corresponds to a significant decrease of 3.8 percent to 558,000.
The number of available labor force is falling
The number of all employees increased by 115,000 people or 0.3 percent to around 41.0 million on an annual average in 2021. The positive development in employment subject to social security contributions made a significant contribution to this. “For the self-employed, including family workers, the decade-long downward trend continued in 2021,” it said. Their number fell by 108,000 people to 3.9 million (minus 2.7 percent).
According to preliminary estimates based on the labor force survey, the number of unemployed (according to an internationally comparable definition) in Germany fell significantly in 2021 compared to the previous year by 159,000 people or 9.6 percent to 1.5 million. The number of people actively available on the labor market fell by 173,000 people (minus 0.4 percent) to 46.3 million in the same period.