German Industry Employment Hits Decade Low, Study Finds
En resumen
- A Bertelsmann Foundation study reveals German industry employment fell to 6.6 million in 2025, a decade low, representing 19% of total employment.
- Declining hiring, not mass layoffs, is the cause, with wage premiums also shrinking.
Resumen generado por IA
Por qué importa
Employment in German industry has fallen to a decade low, with concerns about gradual deindustrialization and companies shifting production abroad.
Employment in German industry dropped to a decade low in 2025, according to a new study which found that only 6.6 million people were employed in the sector.
As a proportion of overall employment in Germany, that represented just 19% of total employment, down from 22% in 20214.
Researchers from the Bertelsmann Foundation, which commissioned the study, said the decline was due to weaker hiring activity rather than particularly large-scale redundancies.
"Declining hiring is a warning signal for future employment trends," commented Bertelsmann labor market expert Luisa Kunze. "We need a revival in labor demand in industry and more dynamism in the labor market."
German industry has also become less attractive to workers in recent years, the study found.
Wage premiums (a figure representing the extra percentage of income that employees earn simply by choosing a job in the industrial sector over an equivalent position in a different field) in German industry fell from a 20% bonus ten years ago to a mere 10% advantage in 2024, according to the study.
Germany's industrial sector has been grappling for years concerns about gradual deindustrialization, with companies increasingly shifting production abroad in response to rising costs at home.
German economy under pressure
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Germany may be taking a break in between their 7-1 win over Curacao on Sunday and their second Group E game against Ivory Coast on Saturday, but two other German coaches have been in action in the United States this week.
On Tuesday night, dark horses Austria, led by German coach Ralf Rangnick, beat Jordan 3-1 in Group J.
And then on Wednesday, Thomas Tuchel's England got their Group L campaign off to a winning start with an entertaining 4-2 victory over Croatia — thanks to two goals from Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane.
"Trust the Tuchel!" quipped news magazine Der Spiegel on Thursday morning. Having won the World Cup four times, it's nice to see Germany helping their English friends in their quest for a first trophy since 1966 ..
Qué observar
Perspectiva de IA — posibilidades, no hechos
Further decline in German industrial employment if labor demand does not revive.
Probable · Medio plazo
Preguntas abiertas
- What specific measures will be taken to revive labor demand?
- Will companies continue shifting production abroad?
