Overview
- On Wednesday, Sept. 30 the Bundesagentur für Arbeit said 2.994 million people were registered as unemployed, a fall of 67,000 from August and an official rate of 6.4 percent.
- Seasonally adjusted unemployment rose by about 12,000 compared with August, signalling that the headline decline is driven mainly by seasonal effects rather than a sustained turnaround.
- Employers reported roughly 660,000 open vacancies with only modest year‑on‑year growth concentrated in a few sectors, while the number of people in social‑insurance jobs fell by about 84,000 compared with last year.
- Regional patterns diverged sharply: Bavaria recorded about 331,000 unemployed in September, its highest September level in two decades, while some states such as North Rhine‑Westphalia and Thüringen saw normal seasonal drops tied to new apprenticeships.
- Policymakers and industry groups urged action: the federal government has pledged about €1 billion for upskilling and the BA is modernising placement, while employers and unions call for broader reforms to boost investment and address structural mismatches.