The number of unemployed people in Germany increased more than expected in May
The number of unemployed people in Germany increased more than expected by 25 thousand in May compared to April, as the economic recession slowed the spring recovery in the labor market.
The German Federal Employment Agency (BA) announced May data on unemployment figures. Accordingly, the seasonally adjusted number of unemployed people in the country increased by 25 thousand in May compared to April and reached 2 million 723 thousand.
The market expectation regarding the number of unemployed people was to increase by 10 thousand people in May.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.9 percent in May. In May, vacant positions of companies decreased by 65 thousand compared to the previous year and reached 702 thousand.
In his assessment of the issue, Federal Employment Agency President Andrea Nahles said, “The spring recovery has not really started this year. The recovery will still take a long time.” he said.
Stating that the number of occupations in Germany where the shortage of skilled workers is evident decreased slightly from 200 to 183, Nahles said, “Due to demographic developments, many qualified and experienced skilled workers will continue to leave the labor market in the coming years.”
The German economy narrowly avoided entering a technical recession by recording 0.2 percent growth in the first quarter of the year, after a 2-year recession.
The German economy remains fragile, particularly due to persistent weakness in the manufacturing sector, which plays a larger role than in other countries in the region.
The German government revised its official growth expectation, previously announced as 0.2 percent for 2024, to 0.3 percent on April 24, “with signs of slight cyclical recovery.”