Germany’s labor market demonstrated stability in May 2025, according to preliminary data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Approximately 45.8 million individuals residing in Germany were employed, representing a negligible seasonal adjustment change compared to the previous month, with an increase of just 1,000 people.
The number of employed individuals has remained largely consistent since December 2024, following a decrease of 14,000 in January and subsequent modest increases of 9,000 and 5,000 in February and March respectively. The level of employment remained unchanged between April and May.
Unadjusted for seasonal variations, the number of employed individuals rose by 85,000 (+0.2 percent) compared to April, a smaller increase than the average observed in May between 2022 and 2024 (+100,000).
However, compared to May 2024, the number of employed individuals decreased by 64,000 (-0.1 percent), a trend consistent with figures from December 2024 through April 2025, which also registered a -0.1 percent change year-on-year. This slight downward trend observed in the labor market since November 2024 relative to the previous year has continued through May 2025.
The labor force survey indicates that 1.65 million individuals were unemployed in May 2025, an increase of 94,000 individuals or 6.0 percent more than in May 2024. The unemployment rate consequently rose to 3.8 percent, a 0.2 percentage point increase compared to 3.6 percent in May of the previous year.
Adjusting for seasonal and irregular effects, the adjusted number of unemployed individuals stood at 1.61 million, slightly higher than the previous month by 2,000 individuals (+0.1 percent). The adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged from the previous month at 3.7 percent.
