Press Employment up 1.2% in June 2016 on a year earlier

Press release No. 261 of 28 July 2016

WIESBADEN – In June 2016, roughly 43.5 million persons resident in Germany were in employment according to provisional calculations of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Compared with the same month a year earlier, this was a strong increase of 528,000 or 1.2%. Since December 2015, employment has continuously increased, with year-on-year growth rates of 1.2% each. Roughly 1.8 million people were unemployed in June 2016, 138,000 fewer than a year earlier.

According to provisional results of the employment accounts, the number of persons in employment increased by 87,000, or 0.2%, from May 2016 to June 2016. The increase on May was higher than the relevant average of the past five years (+57,000 people). After seasonal adjustment, that is, after the elimination of the usual seasonal fluctuations, the number of persons in employment increased by 46,000, or 0.1%, in June 2016 month on month.

In addition to the first calculation of the number of persons in employment for the reference month of June 2016, the provisional monthly, quarterly and annual employment results were recalculated from 2012 as part of the regular revision of national accounting results. All sources of employment statistics that had additionally become available until the time of calculation were taken into account for the employment accounts. For the monthly employment figures, the recalculation resulted in year-on-year change rates which are by a maximum of 0.1 percentage points higher or 0.2 percentage points lower than the results published earlier.

Results of the labour force survey show that 1.8 million people were unemployed in June 2016. Compared with the same month a year earlier, the number declined by 138,000 or 6.7%. Adjusted for seasonal and irregular effects, the number of unemployed stood at 1.8 million, which was a decline of roughly 9,000 on a month earlier. The adjusted unemployment rate was 4.2% again in June 2016.

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), 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 (months).

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.
2013January41.869–0.90. 842.1710.0
February41.8830.00.842.1930.1
March41.9560.20.742.175–0.0
April42.0860.30.642.1870.0
May42.2330.30.742.2400.1
June42.2700.10.642.2510.0
July42.2900.00.642.2910.1
August42.3340.10.542.2980.0
September42.5330.50.642.3220.1
October42.6500.30.542.3580.1
November42.6680.00.542.3740.0
December42.465–0.50.542.3900.0
2014January42.159–0.70.742.4640.2
February42.2020.10.842.5100.1
March42.3150.30.942.5290.0
April42.4740.40.942.5710.1
May42.5700.20.842.5740.0
June42.6210.10.842.5960.1
July42.6410.00.842.6300.1
August42.6600.00.842.625–0.0
September42.8580.50.842.6500.1
October42.9690.30.742.6820.1
November42.964–0.00.742.676–0.0
December42.781–0.40.742.7110.1
2015January42.429–0.80.642.7390.1
February42.4710.10.642.7810.1
March42.6340.40.842.8430.1
April42.7920.40.742.8860.1
May42.9130.30.842.9180.1
June42.9920.20.942.9620.1
July43.0230.10.943.0040.1
August43.0700.11.043.0360.1
September43.2820.51.043.0750.1
October43.3860.21.043.0990.1
November43.4580.21.143.1710.2
December43.302–0.41.243.2340.1
2016January42.947–0.81.243.2660.1
February42.9980.11.243.3130.1
March43.1600.41.243.3690.1
April43.3050.31.243.3970.1
May43.4330.31.243.4380.1
June43.5200.21.243.4840.1

  

II. Labour force survey
Unemployed persons and persons in employment 1
June
2016
Previous monthSame month of the previous year
May
2016
ChangeJune
2015
Change
1 Persons in households aged 15 to 74 years. Extrapolated on the basis of key population figures from the 2011 Census.
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-12-ARIMA method using Demetra+; calculation by Eurostat).
Original values
in millionin %in millionin %
Unemployed persons1.801.781.11.93–6.7
Persons in employment40.9140.660.639.892.6
shares in %in %shares in %in %
Unemployment rate 24.24.20.04.6–8.7
Employment rate 365.865.40.665.01.2
Adjusted results 4
in millionin %in millionin %
Unemployed persons1.801.81–0.61.95–7.7
Persons in employment40.8740.860.039.942.3
shares in %in %shares in %in %
Unemployment rate 24.24.20.04.7–10.6
including: 
Men4.54.50.05.0–10.0
Women3.93.90.04.3–9.3
Persons aged under 25 years7.27.20.07.11.4
Persons aged 25 to 74 years3.93.90.04.4–11.4
Employment rate 365.765.70.065.10.9

Methodological notes:

As of reference month January 2016, a new sampling frame based on the results of the 2011 Census has been used for the sample of the microcensus and the integrated labour force survey. As a result of the changeover, comparability over time with microcensus results of previous years may be limited. Studying in depth the potential effects of introducing the new sampling frame will be possible only when more results become available.

The number of persons in employment as obtained in the employment accounts and that from the labour force survey differ. The differences are due to the different concepts applied in the two statistical systems. For more information on the background of the differences in results between the labour force survey and the employment accounts.

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 the European Statistical System, the results of the labour force survey are used as a standard basis for calculating unemployment rates.

Annual results, quarterly results and more monthly results are available: Employment.
Under “Unemployment”, the results adjusted by means of the Berlin method (BV4.1) are additionally available (trend cycle component).

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