Germany's employment steady at 46 mn in November 2025

09 Jan '26

2 min read

Germany's employment steady at 46 mn in November 2025

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Insights

Germany's employment held steady at around 46 million people in November 2025, with seasonally adjusted figures virtually unchanged MoM, according to Destatis.
Employment was 0.1 per cent lower year on year, extending a mild downward trend.
Unemployment rose to 1.64 million, up 11.6 per cent from a year earlier, while the adjusted jobless rate remained stable at 3.8 per cent.

Employment levels in Germany remained broadly stable in November 2025, with around 46 million people in work, according to provisional figures from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). On a seasonally adjusted basis, employment was virtually unchanged from October, edging down by just 1,000 people, following a modest increase of 3,000 the previous month.

Without seasonal adjustment, the number of persons in employment rose slightly by 7,000 month- on-month. This increase was weaker than the average rise typically recorded in November between 2022 and 2024, signalling softer labour market momentum towards the end of the year, Destatis said in a press release.

On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, employment in November 2025 was 51,000 lower than in November 2024, representing a decline of 0.1 per cent. This continued the mild downward trend observed since July, with similar annual declines recorded between August and October.

Unemployment, however, showed a clearer increase. The labour force survey indicated that 1.64 million people were unemployed in November, up by 171,000, or 11.6 per cent, compared with a year earlier. The unemployment rate rose to 3.7 per cent, up 0.4 percentage points YoY.

After adjusting for seasonal and irregular effects, unemployment stood at 1.67 million, an increase of 7,000 from October. The adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.8 per cent, suggesting limited short-term movement despite rising annual pressures.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)

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