Labor market
Difficult times for temporary workers in Germany
The recession is hitting the temporary employment industry hard, an analysis shows. The industry is therefore primarily reducing external staff before it affects the core workforce.
The temporary employment industry is suffering particularly badly from the difficult economic situation in Germany. This is shown by a current study by the credit agency Creditreform.
“The industry, as one of the main customers of temporary employment, is in crisis mode and is reducing the number of employees. This directly affects the personnel service providers,” says Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch, head of Creditreform economic research. First of all, external personnel such as temporary workers will be cut, rather than the permanent workforce. The industry is therefore one of the losers in the recession and is under great pressure.
The effects are already clearly visible. In the second quarter of 2025, the turnover of temporary employment agencies in Germany fell by 7.4 percent compared to the same period last year, as Creditreform reports. In the first quarter, revenues were 11 percent lower. Hantzsch describes the economic development of the industry as an early indicator of economic changes.
Extraordinarily high insolvency rate
The number of bankruptcies has recently increased, with small and medium-sized temporary employment agencies particularly affected. According to the study, 120 companies filed for bankruptcy last year and a further 63 in the first half of 2025.
According to Hantzsch, the industry has an above-average insolvency rate. “This is a warning signal for investors, lenders and suppliers.” Business partners should therefore check their creditworthiness regularly. The financial situation of many companies is tense. In more than a quarter (28 percent) of the companies, the equity ratio is less than 10 percent. Only every second company achieves at least 30 percent.
According to a report by the Federal Employment Agency, the number of temporary workers in Germany has recently declined in most professional sectors. In June 2024, there were a total of around 675,000 temporary workers subject to social security contributions, a good 70 percent of whom were male. The high proportion is mainly due to the fact that production jobs make up a large proportion of temporary work. According to the Federal Agency, there were around 40,000 rental companies in this country in June 2024.
dpa
Source: Stern
