| “The labor market was robust overall in March as well. However, the weak economy is leaving its mark: the spring revival is only beginning to take hold,” said Andrea Nahles, Chairwoman of the Board of the Federal Employment Agency (BA), today at the monthly press conference in Nuremberg. |
The figures for March 2023
For March 2023 the following figures were announced:
- Unemployment in March: -26,000 to 2,594,000
- Unemployment year-on-year: +232,000
- Unemployment rate month-on-month: unchanged at 5.7 percent
Unemployment, underemployment and unemployment
As the spring revival began, unemployment fell to 2,594,000 in March 2023 compared to the previous month. The decline was rather weak at 26,000. Seasonally adjusted, the number of unemployed has therefore increased by 16,000. Compared with March last year, the number of unemployed is 232,000 higher. Even without taking Ukrainian refugees into account, unemployment would have increased compared to the previous year. As in February, the unemployment rate in March 2023 was 5.7 percent, up 0.6 percentage points on the same month last year. The unemployment rate determined by the Federal Statistical Office based on the ILO employment concept was 3.0 percent in February.
Underemployment, which, in addition to unemployment, also includes changes in labor market policy and short-term incapacity to work, increased by 23,000 in seasonally adjusted terms compared to the previous month, since the participation of Ukrainian refugees in integration courses in particular is also taken into account here. Underemployment was 3,465,000 people in March 2023. That was 357,000 more than a year ago. Without taking Ukrainian refugees into account, underemployment would have been 7,000 more than in the previous year.
short-time work
Before the start of short-time work, companies must report the expected loss of work. According to current data, short-time work was announced for 50,000 people from March 1st to 27th inclusive.
Current data on actual utilization is available up to January 2023. According to preliminary extrapolated data from the Federal Employment Agency, short-time work benefits were paid to 140,000 employees this month. Utilization has therefore not increased recently.
employment and employment
According to the Federal Statistical Office, the seasonally adjusted number of people in employment (according to the domestic concept) rose by 31,000 in February 2023 compared to the previous month. At 45.60 million people, it was 423,000 higher than in the previous year. Seasonally adjusted employment subject to social security contributions increased by 34,000 from December 2022 to January 2023. According to projections by the BA, it rose by 395,000 to 34.57 million employees in January compared to the previous year. 7.39 million people had marginally paid employment in January 2023, 274,000 more than in the same month last year. Of these, 4.16 million were employed exclusively and 3.23 million in part-time jobs.
labor demand
In March, 777,000 jobs were registered with the BA, 62,000 fewer than a year ago. The reported demand for labor has been on a seasonally adjusted downward trend since early summer of last year. Overall, however, the need for personnel is still at a comparatively high level. The BA job index (BA X) – an indicator of the demand for personnel in Germany, which also takes into account the number of registered jobs – fell by 2 points to 125 points in March 2023. The gap between the job index and the same month last year increased to -11 points.
Cash benefits in the case of unemployment and need of assistance
797,000 people received unemployment benefits in March 2023, 45,000 more than a year ago. The number of employable beneficiaries of basic security for jobseekers (SGB II) was 3,895,000 in March. Compared to March 2022, this was an increase of 323,000 people. 7.2 percent of people of working age living in Germany were in need of help.
training market
From October 2022 to March 2023, 311,000 applicants for a training position registered with the employment agencies and the job centers. That was 2,000 fewer than in the same period last year. In March, 187,000 young people had not found an apprenticeship or an alternative. At the same time, 451,000 training places were registered, 7,000 more than a year ago. Of these, 297,000 were still unoccupied. However, the training market is still very much in motion in March. Therefore, these figures only allow a preliminary assessment of the development in the current reporting year.
Source | Federal Employment Agency