Press August 2019: number of persons in employment up 0.7% year on year

Employment up by 317,000 people compared with August 2018

Press release No. 384 of 29 August 2019

WIESBADEN – Roughly 45.1 million persons resident in Germany were in employment in August 2019 according to provisional calculations of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Compared with August 2018, the number of persons in employment increased by 0.7% (+317,000). The year-on-year change rate had been 1.2% in December 2018, 1.1% in January 2019 and 0.8% in July. This means that employment growth continued but slowed in the course of 2019.

Number of persons in employment up slightly from a month earlier

According to provisional results of the employment accounts, the number of persons in employment was up slightly by 1,000 in August 2019 on the previous month and was lower than the relevant average for August in the past five years (+28,000 people). After seasonal adjustment, that is, after the elimination of the usual seasonal fluctuations, the number of persons in employment increased slightly by 9,000 in August 2019 compared with July 2019.

Adjusted number of unemployed standing at 1.33 million

According to results of the labour force survey, 1.39 million people were unemployed in August. This was a decrease of 88,000 people compared with a year earlier (-5.4%). When adjusted for seasonal and irregular effects, the number of unemployed stood at 1.33 million. This is a month-on-month decline of 7,400 people or 0.7%. The adjusted unemployment rate was 3.1% in August 2019.

I. Employment accounts
Persons in employment whose place of residence is in Germany 1
YearMonthOriginal valuesSeasonally adjusted 2
personschange on
previous month
change on the same month
of the previous year
personschange on
previous month
in millionin %in millionin %
1 Results of employment accounts as part of national accounting: persons in employment whose place of residence is in Germany (resident concept). The respective time series for persons in employment whose place of work is in Germany (domestic concept) are presented here.
2 Seasonal adjustment by Census X-12-Arima.
2016January43.001-0.91.243.2860.0
February43.0890.21.343.3460.1
March43.2240.31.243.4040.1
April43.3610.31.243.4340.1
May43.4810.31.243.4830.1
June43.5380.11.243.5370.1
July43.5180.01.143.5380.0
August43.5790.11.243.6120.2
September43.8730.71.243.6840.2
October43.9720.21.243.7210.1
November44.0620.21.243.7770.1
December43.942-0.31.343.8340.1
2017January43.584-0.81.443.8580.1
February43.6570.21.343.9060.1
March43.7920.31.343.9640.1
April43.9290.31.343.9990.1
May44.0380.21.344.0370.1
June44.1040.11.344.1040.2
July44.1320.11.444.1600.1
August44.1640.11.344.2020.1
September44.4360.61.344.2550.1
October44.5290.21.344.2890.1
November44.6340.21.344.3510.1
December44.528-0.21.344.4150.1
2018January44.244-0.61.544.5080.2
February44.2960.11.544.5380.1
March44.3930.21.444.5610.1
April44.5380.31.444.6080.1
May44.6570.31.444.6560.1
June44.6750.01.344.6770.0
July44.6950.01.344.7270.1
August44.7370.11.344.7780.1
September44.9670.51.244.7920.0
October45.0780.21.244.8450.1
November45.1790.21.244.8960.1
December45.056-0.31.244.9400.1
2019January44.742-0.71.144.9970.1
February44.7930.11.145.0290.1
March44.8730.21.145.0410.0
April44.9840.21.045.0540.0
May45.0680.20.945.0660.0
June45.0690.00.945.0750.0
July45.0530.00.845.0870.0
August45.0540.00.745.0960.0
II. Labour force survey
Unemployed persons and persons in employment 1
August
2019
Previous monthSame month of the previous year
July
2019
ChangeAugust
2018
Change
1 Persons in households aged 15 to 74 years.
2 Share of unemployed in the labour force (persons in employment and unemployed) aged 15 to 74 years.
3 Share of persons in employment in all persons aged 15 to 74 years.
4 Trend cycle component (X-13-ARIMA method using JDemetra+; calculation by Eurostat).
Original values
in millionin %in millionin %
Unemployed persons1.391.334.51.47-5.4
Persons in employment42.1841.940.642.100.2
shares in %in %shares in %in %
Unemployment rate 23.23.13.23.4-5.9
Employment rate 368.568.20.467.81.0
Adjusted results 4
in millionin %in millionin %
Unemployed persons1.331.34-0.71.46-8.9
Persons in employment42.0242.020.041.790.6
shares in %in percentage pointsshares in %in percentage points
Unemployment rate 23.13.10.03.4-0.3
Men3.43.40.03.8-0.4
Women2.72.70.02.9-0.2
Persons aged under 25 years5.75.70.06.1-0.4
Persons aged 25 to 74 years2.82.80.03.1-0.3
Employment rate 368.268.3-0.167.30.9


Detailed data and long time series are available from the GENESIS-Online database. The data on persons in employment from employment accounts are available in tables 13321-0001 (months) and 13321-0002 (quarters) and 81000-0011 (years). Data on persons in employment and unemployed persons from the labour force survey can be found in tables 13231-0001 to 13231-0003 (months)

Methodological notes:

The results provided by the employment accounts and the labour force survey for the number of persons in employment are not the same. The differences are due to the different conceptual approaches applied in the two statistical systems. For more information on the reasons why the results from the labour force survey differ from those of the employment accounts please refer to the explanatory notes on the statistics.

Persons in employment and unemployed persons are counted according to the employment status concept of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Therefore, unemployment as shown here must not be confused with registered unemployment as published by the Federal Employment Agency in accordance with the Social Code. In the European Statistical System, the results of the labour force survey are used as a standard basis for calculating unemployment rates.

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