Press release No.136 / 2008-04-01

Upward trend on labour market undiminished

WIESBADEN – The short-term development on the labour market continues to be favourable. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on the basis of first calculations for February 2008, the number of persons in employment whose place of residence was in Germany amounted to 39.63 million. That was an increase by 534,000 persons (+1.4%) on February last year. Compared with January 2008, the number of persons in employment rose by 62,000 (+0.2%) in February 2008.

The upturn on the labour market, which has continued since spring 2006, is based not only on marginal jobs but especially on a positive trend of jobs subject to social insurance contributions.

An increase in employment between January and February is usual at this time of the year. This year, the increase (+62,000 persons) was larger than in any year since February 2000.

In February 2008, the number of persons in employment in Germany amounted to 40.02 million after seasonal adjustment, that is after elimination of the typical seasonal variations. That was an increase by 62,000 (+0.2%) on January 2008.

Based on the labour force survey, Destatis determined a seasonally adjusted 3.19 million unemployed for February 2008. That figure, which is a provisional estimate, was calculated according to the concept of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Compared with the same month a year earlier (February 2007), the number of unemployed was down by 550,000 persons or 14.7%. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate – which is harmonised across the EU and measured as the share of unemployed in the total labour force – amounted to 7.4% in Germany and was thus considerably below the level of the corresponding month of the previous year (8.7%).

More results, including the original unemployment data which have not been seasonally adjusted, can be accessed on the internet. Here, you will also find detailed methodological notes on the ILO labour market statistics, the labour force survey and the microcensus.

>>> brief methodological description

For further information please contact:
For „employment“:
Christoph-Martin Mai,
tel: (+49-611) 75-3378,

For „unemployment“:
Thomas Körner,
tel: (+49-611) 75-4413,

E-mail: arbeitsmarkt@destatis.de

Persons in employment whose place of residence is in Germany¹⁾
Year	Month	Original values			Seasonally adjusted²⁾
Year	Month	persons	change on previous month	change on the same month of the previous year	persons	change on previous month
		in million	in %		in million	in %
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 on the internet. ²⁾Seasonal adjustment by Census-X12-Arima.
2007	January	39.043	–1.3	1.8	39.436	0.4
	February	39.094	0.1	1.9	39.482	0.1
	March	39.241	0.4	1.9	39.556	0.2
	April	39.431	0.5	1.9	39.605	0.1
	May	39.573	0.4	1.7	39.622	0.0
	June	39.618	0.1	1.5	39.628	0.0
	July	39.574	– 0.1	1.5	39.655	0.1
	August	39.679	0.3	1.5	39.695	0.1
	September	40.011	0.8	1.6	39.735	0.1
	October	40.217	0.5	1.6	39.780	0.1
	November	40.287	0.2	1.6	39.829	0.1
	December	40.148	– 0.3	1.5	39.884	0.1
2008	January	39.566	– 1.4	1.3	39.956	0.2
2008	February	39.628	0,2	1.4	40.021	0.2

Unemployed persons whose place of residence is in Germany– seasonally adjusted results³⁾
Unemployed	February 2008	Previous month		Same month of previous year
Unemployed	February 2008	January 2008	change	February 2007	Change
³⁾Estimated seasonally adjusted unemployment data based on the labour force survey. Please note the methodical explanations on the internet. Provisional results. ⁴⁾Share of unemployed persons in the total labour force (persons in employment and unemployed) according to the European definition: Persons in employment and unemployed persons in households from 15 years of age or from 15 to 74 years (unemployed) as well as persons in employment excluding persons doing compulsory military service and conscripts on compulsory community service. Sub-groups defined accordingly.
Persons	in million		in %	in million	in %
Total	3,19	3,26	– 2,3	3,74	– 14,7
Men	1,70	1,75	– 3,0	2,00	– 15,2
Woman	1,49	1,51	– 1,4	1,74	– 14,0
15 to 24-year olds	0,51	0,53	– 3,0	0,59	– 13,1
25 to 74-year olds	2,68	2,74	– 2,1	3,15	– 15,0
Unemployment rate⁴⁾	Shares in %		in %	Shares in %	in %
Total	7,4	7,6	– 2,2	8,7	– 14,7
Men	7,4	7,6	– 2,9	8,7	– 15,0
Woman	7,4	7,5	– 1,3	8,7	– 14,3
15 to 24-year olds	9,8	10,1	– 2,8	11,2	– 12,9
25 to 74-year olds	7,1	7,2	– 2,1	8,3	– 15,0

For more details please refer to the German version.

Contact:
tel: (+49-611)75-3444
fax: (+49-611)75-3976
presse@destatis.de
www.destatis.de

Service hours:
Mon - Tue: 8am - 5pm
Fri: 8am - 3pm
CET / CEST

Postal address:
65180 Wiesbaden
Germany

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