According to preliminary data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Friday, approximately 45.54 million people residing in Germany (using the domestic concept) were employed in June 2026. When adjusting for seasonality, the number of employed persons fell by 23,000 compared to the previous month, representing a decrease of 0.1 percent. Between January and May 2026, the average monthly decline was 19,000 people in comparison to the previous corresponding month. Non-seasonally adjusted, Destatis reported that in June 2026, the number of employed persons showed almost no change compared to May 2026, dipping by 5,000 people (0.0 percent). However, when comparing June to the average of the same month across 2023 to 2025, employment increased by 23,000 people.
In the year-on-year comparison, the number of employed persons saw a significant decrease of 223,000 people in June 2026, equating to a 0.5 percent drop. This sustained the downward trend observed in year-on-year comparisons since January 2025, as the rate of change was reported at -0.4 percent for January through April 2026, and -0.5 percent in May 2026. Furthermore, preliminary statistics for the second quarter of 2026 indicated that around 45.69 million people employed in Germany (using the local concept) were employed. Compared to the previous quarter, the number of employed persons fell by 53,000 (0.1 percent) after seasonal adjustments.
Regarding unemployment, the labor survey results showed that 1.76 million people were jobless in June 2026. This figure represented an increase of 179,000 people, or 11.3 percent, compared to June 2025. Consequently, the unemployment rate rose to 4.0 percent, which is higher than the previous year’s rate (June 2025: 3.6 percent). After adjusting for seasonal and irregular effects, the unemployment figure in June 2026 was 1.70 million people. This was 6,000 people, or 0.3 percent, more than the figure reported in May 2026. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 3.9 percent (May 2026: 3.8 percent).
