Unemployment in Germany rose in November, but significantly less than expected

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The number of unemployed reached 2.86 million in Germany in November, according to the Federal Employment Agency, or 7,000 more people than in October (5.9% of the working age population) .

This figure, however, is lower than the forecasts of several analysts who expected an increase of around 20,000 unemployed.

The November unemployment report shows that the German job market is still quite resilient, although several large companies such as Volkswagen and Schaeffler have announced a series of job cuts over the last few months.

In November 2024, 668,000 job vacancies were open in Germany, a decrease of 65,000 compared to the same month of the previous year.

German retail sales fall in October

Germany’s retail sales report for October was also released on Friday. These stand at -1.5%, a significant drop compared to the month of September (1.6%).according to the Federal Statistical Office. This figure is also significantly lower than market expectations (0.3%).

This decline was mainly due to a 2.4% drop in internet and mail order sales, while sales of non-food products fell 2.2%. On the other hand, sales of food products increased by 0.1%.

Year-on-year retail sales also largely missed forecasts, coming in at 1% in October, compared with 4.2% in September and the 3.2% expected by analysts.

The increasing cost of living in Germany and the slowdown of its economy both contributed to slowing retail sales. General geopolitical uncertaintyparticularly with regard to US customs dutiesalso weighed on economic forecasts for the coming year.

Indeed, Germany relies heavily on its exports, which could be significantly affected in the event of a trade war between the EU and the United States.