The weakening economy is also affecting the labor market: the spring recovery is limited this year. At least things are going a little better with apprenticeships.
The number of unemployed fell by 20,000 in April compared to March. The number of people without a job is now 2.750 million, as the Federal Employment Agency (BA) in Nuremberg announced. The BA cited the weak spring recovery in the labor market as the reason for the comparatively slight decline. This is due to the still weak economy.
The unemployment rate remained unchanged from March at 6.0 percent. Compared to the same month last year, the rate increased by 0.3 points. For the April statistics, the Federal Agency used data that was available up to the 15th of the month.
“Lack of tailwind” on the job market
“The labor market is still lacking the economic tailwind. The spring recovery therefore remains weak,” said BA board member Daniel Terzenbach in Nuremberg. “Although the German economy has not been able to get going for two years, the situation on the labor market remains robust.”
The demand for workers is also falling slightly – although at a still very high level. In April, 701,000 job vacancies were registered with the BA. That’s 72,000 fewer than a year ago.
Possibly more short-time work again
Short-time work, however, could increase again. From April 1st to 24th, companies reported short-time work for 61,000 people – around a third more than in March. However, it is not yet clear whether this will be used. The latest figures for the actual use of short-time work come from February: At that time, 204,000 people were on short-time work, after 190,000 in January and 146,000 in December 2023.
Improved location on training market
Things are going better on the training market than last year. According to the information, from October 2023 to April 2024, 342,000 applicants applied to the employment agencies and job centers for an apprenticeship. That was 6,000 more than in the same period last year.
In April, 185,000 young people had neither found a training place nor an alternative. At the same time, 455,000 open training positions were reported, 17,000 fewer than a year ago. Of these, 270,000 were still unoccupied. However, the training market is still in flux in April.