Slight Decline in Unemployment in March
In March 2026, the number of unemployed people in Germany fell by 49,000 to 3.021 million. The unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 6.4 percent, remaining at the same level as the previous year. Despite the usual seasonal spring increase, the labor market has shown comparatively stable performance this year, as Andrea Nahles, Chairwoman of the Executive Board of the Federal Employment Agency (BA), emphasized at the press conference in Nuremberg.
Development in Unemployment and Underemployment
According to the ILO concept, the unemployment rate stood at 4.2 percent in February 2026. Underemployment, which includes not only unemployment but also short-term incapacity to work and labor market policy measures, remained seasonally adjusted unchanged compared with the previous month and, at 3.69 million people, was slightly below the level of the previous year.
Employment and Short-Time Work
The number of employed persons fell seasonally adjusted by 12,000 in February to 45.66 million, which is 119,000 below the level of the previous year. Social security-contributing employment declined by 30,000 from December 2025 to January 2026 and stood at 34.75 million employees, 72,000 fewer than a year earlier. Marginal employment also decreased by 44,000 year-on-year to 7.46 million.
The use of cyclical short-time work allowance stood at 136,000 people in January 2026, representing a decrease of 6,000 compared with the previous month and 141,000 compared with the previous year.
Labor Demand Stable at a Low Level
Demand for workers stabilized at a low level in March 2026. A total of 638,000 job vacancies were registered with the Federal Employment Agency, 5,000 fewer than a year ago. The BA job index (BA-X), which takes into account both registered vacancies and newly posted positions, stood at 103 points.
Cash Benefits and Need for Assistance
In March 2026, around 1.1 million people received unemployment benefit, an increase of 98,000 compared with the previous year. By contrast, the number of employable people entitled to citizen’s benefit fell to 3.82 million, a decline of 147,000 people. This means that 7.0 percent of the employable population was in need of assistance.
Training Market Remains Challenging
Since October 2025, 332,000 applicants have registered with employment agencies and job centers for a vocational training position, two percent more than in the previous year. Nevertheless, by March 2026, 213,000 had still not found a training position or an alternative. The number of reported training positions stood at 366,000, although underreporting is expected due to changes in the statistics. According to estimates, the actual number of training positions in February 2026 was around eight percent below the level of the previous year. The training market therefore remains tight, although the current data only allow for a preliminary assessment.
Unemployment Figures in March
- Unemployment in March: -49,000 to 3,021,000
- Year-on-year change in unemployment: +54,000
- Unemployment rate compared with the previous month: -0.1 percentage points to 6.4 percent
Source: Arbeitsagentur.de
