Germany unemployment rises to 6.4% in July

Germany's unemployment rate rose to 6.4% in July, the federal employment agency BfA said Friday, citing mainly seasonal factors and weak labour market momentum.

Analysts polled by FactSet had forecast the rate would stay at 6.3%, the level recorded in each of the previous two months.

Unadjusted figures showed the number of unemployed people rising by 71,000 during July to above 3 million for the first time since May. Seasonally adjusted figures showed an increase of 6,000.

“Unemployment and underemployment rose significantly in July, mainly for seasonal reasons,” said Daniel Terzenbach, a member of the agency's executive board. He said the holiday period and the end of vocational training programmes for young people partly contributed to the rise, while weak labour demand was making it harder for jobseekers to find work.

The BfA said 28,000 more people were unemployed than in July last year.

The German Engineering Federation VDMA called for reforms, saying work should be made more attractive and the burden on businesses eased. Germany's GDP rose 0.2% in the second quarter of 2026 despite the Middle East war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which triggered an energy crisis in the eurozone.