Overview

• Unemployment rose by 65,000 in July to 2.979 million, marking the highest July figure in years and pushing the national rate to 6.3 percent.
• The number of open job vacancies fell by 75,000 year-on-year to 628,000 as employers held back on new hires amid economic uncertainty.
• Youth unemployment surged when training cycles ended, driving a disproportionate rise in jobless rates among under-25s.
• Bavaria hit a July unemployment rate of 4.0 percent—the highest for that month in 18 years—while North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony reached multi-year July highs at 8.0 percent and 7.1 percent.
• Bundesagentur für Arbeit chair Andrea Nahles said the agency expects unemployment to exceed three million in August, underscoring persistent structural headwinds.