In January 2026, roughly 45.5 million residents of Germany were employed.
According to provisional figures from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the seasonally adjusted employment level fell by 14,000 from the previous month. Between May and December 2025, the employment figure had on average been down 12,000 each month relative to the preceding month.
Without seasonal adjustment, employment in January 2026 was 369,000 lower than December 2025, a drop of 0.8 percent. That decline was steeper than the January average for 2023‑2025, which registered a 332,000 (0.7 percent) fall.
Year‑on‑year, employment in January 2026 was 88,000 fewer – a 0.2 percent decrease – than in January 2025. In October and November 2025 the annual change was -0.1 percent, and in December 2025 it was -0.2 percent, indicating that the downward trend observed in the labor market since August 2025 has continued.
The labour‑force survey reported 1.86 million unemployed people in January 2026, 195,000 more (11.7 percent) than in January 2025. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent, a 0.5‑point increase from 3.7 percent in the same month last year.
After removing seasonal and irregular influences, the number of unemployed in January 2026 was 1.75 million – 6,000 more than December – a 0.4 percent rise. The adjusted unemployment rate stayed at 4.0 percent, according to the federal office.
