In the second quarter of 2026, approximately 45.7 million people were employed in Germany, according to preliminary figures from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Seasonally adjusted, the number of employed individuals decreased by 53,000 people, representing a 0.1 percent decline compared to the previous quarter. Furthermore, since the second quarter of 2025, seasonally adjusted employment has consistently decreased by 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter.
When accounting for seasonal effects, the number of employed people increased by 163,000, or 0.4 percent, compared to the first quarter of 2026. While an increase in employment during the second quarter is typical due to seasonality, the growth in 2026 was noticeably weaker than the average seen between 2023 and 2025, which recorded an increase of 222,000 people (0.5 percent).
Year-over-year, the employment figure for the second quarter of 2026 fell significantly by 212,000 people (-0.5 percent) compared to the second quarter of 2025. This pattern of decreasing employment continued, slightly accelerating the trend from the first quarter of 2026, which saw a drop of 190,000 people (-0.4 percent).
Diving into the service sectors, the number of employed individuals saw its first noticeable decline since the COVID-19 crisis in the second quarter of 2026, falling by 27,000 people (-0.1 percent). This follows a period of virtual stagnation in the first quarter of 2026, where the decline was only 2,000 people (0.0 percent). Employment developed unevenly across these service areas: public services, education, and health continued their long-term upward trend, growing significantly by 187,000 people (+1.5 percent). However, the financial and insurance service sector registered only a minor gain of 1,000 people (+0.1 percent).
Conversely, the number of employees in trade, transport, and hospitality continued to decline by 115,000 people (-1.1 percent). In company services, which includes recruitment and temporary staffing, employment fell by 52,000 people (-0.8 percent). The information and communication sector saw employment drop by 24,000 people (-1.5 percent), while the “Other Services” sector (including associations and advocacy groups) expanded its deficit to 28,000 people (-0.9 percent).
Outside of the service sectors, employment plummeted significantly in the second quarter of 2026, dropping by 185,000 people (-1.7 percent) compared to the previous year’s quarter. In the non-construction manufacturing industry, the employed population shrank again sharply (-159,000 people; -2.0 percent). Employment in the construction industry also declined in 2026 by 17,000 people (-0.7 percent), while employment in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries decreased by 9,000 people (-1.5 percent).
The positive trend in social insurance-mandated employment ended at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. According to calculated data from the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit), the downward trend persisted in the second quarter of 2026. Job losses were also observed among marginally employed individuals (those engaged in minor or short-term positions). Overall, the number of workers decreased by 154,000 people (-0.4 percent) compared to the second quarter of 2025, reaching 42.1 million. The number of self-employed individuals, including family members assisting them, also continued to fall, dropping by 58,000 people (-1.6 percent) year-on-year to 3.6 million.
Furthermore, initial preliminary calculations from the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) at the Federal Employment Agency indicate that the average working hours per employed person remained unchanged at 314.7 hours in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the previous year. Consequently, the overall economic labor volume-calculated as the product of the decreased number of employed individuals and the unchanged hours worked per person-fell to 14.4 billion hours (-0.5 percent) during the same period.
In an international context, according to Eurostat, the European statistics office, employment calculated using harmonized European methods increased by an average of 0.5 percent in the second quarter of 2026 across the 27 states of the European Union (EU) and the Eurozone compared to the preceding year.
