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Germany’s Labor Market Sputters With Only a Small October Jobless Drop

Flat third‑quarter output underscores weak hiring demand, pointing to a fragile winter outlook.

Overview

  • Registered unemployment fell by 44,000 from September to 2.911 million in October, yet remained 120,000 higher than a year earlier, putting the rate at 6.2%.
  • Employers reported 623,000 vacancies, down by 66,000 year on year, and BA chief Andrea Nahles described the usual autumn upswing as lackluster.
  • Destatis said 45.9 million people were employed in September, with seasonally adjusted employment down by 21,000 for a fifth consecutive monthly decline and the ILO jobless rate at 3.9%.
  • Germany’s economy stagnated in the third quarter on a quarterly basis, reinforcing signs of subdued labor demand.
  • The apprenticeship market tightened as agencies counted 494,000 training places and 444,000 applicants, leaving 54,000 positions unfilled and 40,000 youths still without a place, and the BA cautioned that seasonal effects could lift joblessness above three million in winter.