The number of unemployed people in Germany has topped three million for the first time in over 10 years, increasing month-on-month by 46,000 in August, the Federal Employment Agency said on Friday.
The unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point compared to July, reaching 6.4%.
The figures – although not unexpected due an economic downturn and seasonal fluctuations – highlight the urgent need for reforms to boost growth and employability, according to Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“This will be the focus of the federal government,” Merz said on the sidelines of Franco-German ministerial talks in Toulon in southern France.
A spokeswoman for Economy Minister Katherina Reiche emphasized the need for swift action to create stable conditions. She highlighted lowering energy prices, securing skilled labour and reducing bureaucracy as key priorities.
Parliamentary leaders from Merz’s governing coalition, made up of his conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), are holding a retreat in the German city of Würzburg while much of the Cabinet hold talks with their French counterparts.
Christian Democrat (CDU) parliamentary leader Jens Spahn said they would be pushing for measures to stimulate economic growth.
“Three million unemployed is a milestone that shows everyone the difficult situation Germany is in during its third year of recession,” he told reporters.
‘Signs of stabilization’
The August 2025 figure of 3.025 million was also 153,000 more than in August 2024. Unemployment in Germany has been steadily rising since late 2022.
“The labour market is still characterized by the economic stagnation of recent years,” the employment agency’s chairwoman Andrea Nahles said in Nuremberg. “However, there are also initial signs of stabilization.”
Unemployment figures typically rise over the summer because companies hire fewer people before the holidays and training relationships end.
The number of unemployed last exceeded the 3-million mark in February 2015.
“Three million unemployed people is a damning indictment of the refusal to reform in recent years,” said Rainer Dulger, president of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations. What is needed now is a genuine autumn of reforms, he added.
In a nationwide comparison, the unemployment rate remained highest in the city-states of Bremen, at 11.8%, and Berlin, at 10.5%, and lowest in the southern states of Bavaria, at 4.2%, and Baden-Württemberg at 4.7%.
The Federal Employment Agency used data available up to August 13 for the statistics.
The Institute for Employment Research (IAB) sees initial glimmers of hope despite the new peak in unemployment.
For its labour market barometer, experts survey all employment agencies monthly about their expectations for the next three months.
In August, for the first time in three years, they expected the rise in unemployment to come to an end. Employment could also pick up again as a result, the IAB said.
Some economists believe more labour market flexibility, including the ability to sack people more easily, may conversely help the unemployment numbers. Others fear that applying pressure, including cuts to the welfare state, could have dire consequences.
Source: dpa
Source: ghanabusinessnews.com
