Number of Unemployed in Germany Falls by 84,000

Thanks to a continuation of the spring recovery in the labour market, the number of unemployed in Germany went down in May.

According to the Nuremberg-based Federal Employment Agency, 2.687 million people were without job in May, 84,000 fewer than in the previous month of April and 126,000 fewer than in May 2020.

May 2020 was considered one of the months most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The unemployment rate fell by 0.1 points to 5.9 per cent in May 2021 compared to April, and by 0.2 points compared to May 2020.

There were also bright spots in the number of job vacancies. In May, 654,000 vacancies had been reported to the agency, 70,000 more than a year ago.

However, the number was still lower than in March 2020, the last month before the first coronavirus lock down.

“In May, the first signs of a comprehensive improvement in the labour market are emerging.

“The consequences of the coronavirus crisis are still very visible, but are becoming somewhat smaller,” said Detlef Scheele, chairman of the Federal Employment Agency.

According to the data from the agency, short-time work is easing significantly. Between May 1 and 26, companies had only registered 96,000 people on the government’s furlough scheme.

Experience showed that less short-time work was actually used than was registered as a precaution.

Short-time work allowances were actually paid to 2.61 million people in March 2021.

This is the first time since November 2020 when there was another coronavirus lockdown that the number fell again in March.

At its peak in April 2020, almost nine million people in Germany had claimed short-time allowance.