Germany Employment Falls by 61,000 in Q1, Marking 3rd Straight Quarterly Drop

2 articles · Updated · IndexBox, Inc. · May 19

45.6 million people were employed in Germany in the first quarter, with seasonally adjusted employment down 61,000, or 0.1%, from the prior quarter.
The decline extended losses from the third and fourth quarters of 2025, while the unadjusted headcount fell by 486,000—well above the average first-quarter drop of 381,000 in 2023-2025.
Year on year, employment dropped by 157,000, or 0.3%, as gains of 45,000 in services were outweighed by a 202,000 decline outside services, including a 171,000 fall in manufacturing.
Employees fell by 120,000 to 42.0 million and self-employment dropped by 37,000 to 3.6 million, though average hours worked rose 0.3%, leaving total hours unchanged at 15.7 billion.
Germany's labor market weakened against the broader region: EU employment rose 0.6% and euro-area employment 0.5% from a year earlier.

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