BERLIN: The number of unemployed people in Germany has topped three million for the first time in a decade, labour office figures showed on Friday, raising the stakes for the government’s huge investment plans to deliver quick results.
A total of 3.02 million people were unemployed in August in seasonally unadjusted terms, with an increase of 46,000 in the number of people out of work from the previous month.
“The labour market is still shaped by the economic slump of recent years,” said labour office head Andrea Nahles.
Germany has been struggling with a persistently weak economy, and US President Donald Trump’s import tariffs could lead to a third year without growth for the first time.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate remained stable at 6.3pc in line with analysts’ forecast.
But labour demand is slowing. There were 631,000 job openings in August, 68,000 fewer than a year ago.
“The global economic uncertainties and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine are still leading to economic weakness,” Labour Minister Baerbel Bas said. “The cyclical headwinds continue to leave their mark on the labour market and require countermeasures.”
Bas said the government was providing a big investment boost for the economy, including a 500-billion euro ($585 billion) special fund for infrastructure.
Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2025
