The economy remains weak – and so the decline in unemployment in Germany in March is only a gentle spring upturn.
The number of unemployed people in Germany fell in March compared to the previous month – by 45,000 to 2.769 million. However, compared to March of the previous year, there were 176,000 more unemployed people. This was announced by the Federal Employment Agency in Nuremberg. The unemployment rate was therefore 6.0 percent after 6.1 percent in February.
“Unemployment and underemployment did decrease in March, but less so than usual this month. The economic downturn is still noticeable on the labor market. Overall, however, it continues to hold up relatively well,” commented the Federal Agency’s CEO, Andrea Nahles. the figures collected as of March 13th.
707,000 vacancies were reported to the Federal Agency in March, 70,000 fewer than a year ago. When it comes to short-time work, companies reported short-time work for 48,000 people for the period from March 1st to 24th, which is 10,000 fewer than in the same period of the previous month.
Regarding the current situation on the labor market, the Federal Agency announced that 317,000 applicants for training positions had registered with employment agencies and job centers between October and March. In March, 190,000 of them had not yet found a training position or an alternative. However, the training market is still very much in flux, it was said.
Source: Stern
