Press release No. 035 of 27 January 2023
- More women than men are part of the hidden labour force
- Care responsibilities given as main reason for being unavailable for work by over one third of 25 to 59-year-old women in the hidden labour force
- More than 60% of those in the hidden labour force have a medium or high level of qualification
WIESBADEN – A good 3.1 million inactives aged 15 to 74 years in Germany wished to work in 2021. Based on the microcensus and the labour force survey, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that they accounted for roughly 17% of the inactive population. The hidden labour force, as it is called, comprises people without a job who are not available for work at short notice or not actively looking for work at a given moment but nevertheless wish to have a job. They are therefore not regarded as unemployed but as part of the hidden labour force.
