Nuremberg (dpa)- The German labour market is proving robust even during the Omicron wave of the coronavirus pandemic. “The labour market has got off to a good start in 2022. The number of unemployed people increased in January, but by not nearly as much as usual,” said Daniel Terzenbach, member of the board of the Federal Employment Agency (BA) in Nuremberg.
The number of unemployed people in Germany increased to 2.462 million in January, as is usual for the season. That is 133,000 more than in December 2021, but 439,000 fewer than in January 2021, according to the Federal Employment Agency. The unemployment rate rose from 5.1 percent to 5.4 percent. The number of unemployed people is only 37,000 higher than in January 2020, when the coronavirus crisis still had no impact on public life in Germany.
Short-time work has risen significantly again. The latest figures show that companies reported short-time work for 286,000 people from 1 to 26 January inclusive. The short-time work allowance, which employers have to apply for at the Employment Agency on behalf of their employees, is intended to compensate for a loss of wages in times of crisis. Access to this instrument had been made much easier during the coronavirus pandemic.