Hardly any spring revival
Robust labor market lacks new impetus
05/31/2023, 10:48 am
The situation on the German labor market is stable. However, the economic slowdown is also having an impact here. Employment is hardly growing. The usual seasonal impulses are absent. Nevertheless, the number of unemployed is falling slightly.
The spring revival largely failed to materialize on the German labor market. Although the job market is “overall stable” despite the weak economy, said the head of the Federal Employment Agency, Daniel Terzenbach. “Employment growth continues, but is losing momentum.” Unemployment and underemployment – in which people are recorded in measures such as integration courses – have fallen, but less than usual for May.
A total of 2.544 million people were registered as unemployed in May. That was 42,000 fewer than in April, but 284,000 more than a year ago, like that authority reported. The unemployment rate fell by 0.2 points to 5.5 percent. Adjusted for seasonal effects, the number of unemployed increased by 9,000 in May compared to the previous month. Even without the refugees from Ukraine, unemployment would have risen compared to the same month last year, albeit less sharply. For the statistics, the Federal Agency took into account figures that were available up to May 11th.
Underemployment, which in addition to unemployment also takes into account changes in labor market policy and short-term incapacity for work, rose by a seasonally adjusted month-on-month by 25,000. It affected almost 3.42 million people. That was 405,000 more than a year ago. Excluding Ukrainian refugees, underemployment would have been just 56,000 more than the previous year. Nominally, underemployment fell by 23,000 on a monthly basis.
Unemployment usually falls in the spring because companies are looking for more workers again after the winter. However, the spring revival depends, among other things, on the economic situation and the weather – and therefore varies from year to year.
Meanwhile, short-time work has increased slightly: From May 1 to 24, companies reported short-time work for 45,000 employees. Experience has shown that the number of people who actually go on short-time work is lower. Up-to-date data on how many people claimed short-time work benefits is available up to March: 133,000 people were employed that month, after 140,000 in February.
In May, 767,000 jobs were registered with the BA, 98,000 fewer than a year ago. According to the BA, the reported demand for labor has been steadily declining for a year now. Overall, however, the number of registered jobs is still at a comparatively high level.