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A concise overview with a look back at 2025, the latest unemployment figures, and perspectives on the shortage of skilled workers and hopes for improvement.
We hope you had a good start to the new year and wish you every success in your professional and private life this year!
However, the outlook for the German labor market in 2026 does not look very promising. After a difficult year, the prospects for this year are also rather bleak.
Last month, the number of unemployed rose to 2.908 million compared to the previous month, an increase of 0.1% from November. The negative development on the labor market is particularly evident when compared to the previous year. In December 2024, 101,000 fewer people were registered as unemployed. The weak development is also underlined by the fact that, according to Andrea Nahles, head of the Federal Employment Agency (BA), fewer jobs were reported to the BA in 2025 than ever before since the turn of the millennium.
Nahles does not expect a noticeable improvement until the second half of 2026, but only if the economy develops positively. Then, for the first time in three years, a slight decline in unemployment would be possible.
However, finding a job will continue to be difficult for people without a degree, and the shortage of skilled workers will continue to weigh heavily on German companies. A new study by the Competence Center for Securing Skilled Workers (Kofa) offers a positive outlook in this regard with regard to the labor force of foreign women.
We were also interested in these topics:
Combating the shortage of skilled workers: According to experts at the Competence Center for Securing Skilled Workers (Kofa), unemployed women without German citizenship can make a noticeable contribution to alleviating the shortage of skilled workers.
AI warns of job crises: Tightly knit reporting systems for labor market data, such as those in Germany, are rare. A new study shows how AI can help predict job losses and labor market crises.
Costs of unemployment: Despite various measures, the costs of unemployment remain high and have even increased, with the federal government, the Federal Employment Agency, and the pension insurance system bearing the brunt of the costs.
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This text first appeared as an editorial in the weekly politjobs newsletter. If you would like to receive this newsletter with the latest jobs in politics directly by email every Wednesday, you can subscribe to it here.