6.8 million in short-time work: the number of unemployed continues to rise slightly

With the ongoing Corona crisis, the number of unemployed continues to grow – albeit at a slower rate. The short-time work meanwhile reaches record levels.

The number of unemployed in Germany has risen again due to the consequences of the Corona crisis. In June, 2,853 million people were out of a job, 40,000 more than in May and 637,000 more than a year ago, as the Federal Employment Agency in Nuremberg announced. The unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 6.2 percent. Typically, the number of unemployed in June decreases seasonally at the end of the spring recovery.

In April, the highest level of short-time workers ever reached in the Federal Republic was reached, according to the Federal Agency when it presented its monthly statistics. According to this, 6.83 million people were on short-time work in April, after 2.49 million, which were measured in March. According to the latest data, around one in five employees subject to social security contributions in Germany have received short-term economic benefits.

In total, companies have registered short-time work for more than 12 million people in the Corona crisis. In addition to the 11.8 million in March, April and May, advertisements for 342,000 people were added in June, the Federal Agency reported. Experience has shown that short-time working is not carried out in all of the displayed cases. The Federal Agency bills the companies with a delay of three months.

"The labor market is still under pressure because of the Corona crisis," said Detlef Scheele, chief executive of the Federal Agency. "However, the massive use of short-time work stabilizes the labor market."

The number of Hartz IV recipients in Germany also rose during the Corona crisis. The number was 4.076 million in June, 152,000 more than in June 2019. According to the Federal Agency, 7.5 percent of people of working age were dependent on help in June.

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