Germany’s labour market showed signs of winter blues on Wednesday as the Institute for Employment Research’s (IAB) monthly barometer fell below the neutral mark of 100 for the first time in six months.
The forward-looking indicator dropped by 0.5 points to 99.5 points, the lowest since July 2025.
“The manufacturing sector is currently losing 15,000 jobs subject to social insurance contributions per month,” said IAB researcher Enzo Weber.
The labour market barometer is based on a monthly survey of all German employment agencies regarding their forecasts for the following three months.
The Federal Employment Agency will present official data for February this Friday.
Mechanical engineering and the automotive industry were among the sectors expected to see the sharpest decline in employment, with 60% of employment agencies citing fears for the sectors.
“At least overall employment is holding steady, but the trend is being weighed down by the crisis in industry,” said Weber.
The Munich-based ifo Institute came to a similar conclusion in its employment barometer.
“Reluctance on the labour market is increasing again,” said Klaus Wohlrabe of ifo. “Many companies are planning to lay off more staff instead of creating new jobs.
dpa
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