Overview

• Official data show 3.025 million registered unemployed in August, up 46,000 from July, taking the rate to 6.4 percent.
• Federal Employment Agency chief Andrea Nahles attributes the increase partly to the summer pause and notes early signs of stabilization.
• Chancellor Friedrich Merz calls for sweeping labor and economic reforms, with the coalition’s Würzburg talks backing measures such as tax‑free overtime bonuses and incentives to work past retirement age.
• The Bundesbank warns of stagnation, citing weak orders, loss of export market share, high energy costs, and new 15 percent U.S. tariffs on most EU goods.
• Industry reports point to mounting strain, with IG BCE counting staff cuts at roughly 260 firms and up to 40,000 jobs at risk, consultancies projecting sizable mechanical‑engineering losses by 2029, and reporting highlighting underemployment well above 3.6 million.