The number of unemployed in Germany rose by 107,000 to 2.47 million in July. The main reason for this is the further recording of Ukrainian refugees in the labor market statistics, as the Federal Employment Agency announced on Friday in Nuremberg.
Compared to July 2021, the number of unemployed fell by 120,000. The unemployment rate was 5.4 percent, up 0.2 points from June. For its July statistics, the federal agency used data available up to July 12.
“Unemployment and underemployment increased more sharply in July than is usual for the season,” said Daniel Terzenbach, board member of the Federal Employment Agency.
This is due to the Ukrainian refugees, who were initially classified as asylum seekers, but are now included in basic security and thus appear in the unemployment statistics. “Overall, the job market remains stable despite all the burdens and uncertainties,” said Terzenbach.
The use of short-time work has recently continued to decline, as the Federal Agency also announced. Reliable data are available until May. At that time, 328,000 people in Germany were on short-time work. With more than 2,000 employees, the federal agency is still working through the short-time work peaks from the lockdown phases of the corona pandemic. At the peak, almost six million people in Germany were on short-time work.
The chances of getting a job are still high. According to the Federal Agency, 881,000 vacancies were reported in July. That is 136,000 more than a year ago.
