Despite the economic downturn, unemployment in Germany did not rise as sharply at the beginning of the year as is usual for the winter break, according to the Federal Employment Agency (BA). The number of unemployed people increased by 169,000 to 2.805 million from December to January, the BA announced on Wednesday. “The annual increase in unemployment at the turn of the year is comparatively small this year,” said BA boss Andrea Nahles. “The labor market is therefore stable at the beginning of the year despite the ongoing economic weakness.” In the years before the corona pandemic, the increase was around 200,000. In January, 189,000 more people were unemployed than in January 2023.
Taking seasonal effects into account, the number of unemployed fell by 2,000 from December to January. The unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage points month-on-month to 6.1 percent. “It is not atypical in the winter that people in outdoor jobs, for example in construction, are sometimes unable to work due to the weather,” said Nahles. In addition, many employment contracts expired at the end of the year. Between the years, like during the summer holidays, there are regularly fewer new hires. Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil also spoke of a stable labor market.