German industry employment falls to ten-year low, study shows

BERLIN - The number of people employed in German industry in 2025 fell to a 10-year low of just 6.6 million workers, a study by the German Economic Institute (IW) showed on Thursday.

• The decline was not driven by rising numbers of dismissals by employers but by hesitation to refill vacancies and hire new staff

• "The decline in new hires is a warning signal for future employment trends," said Luisa Kunze, labour market expert at the Bertelsmann Stiftung, which commissioned the IW study

• Industry's share of the overall labour market has fallen from 22% to 19% since 2014, fuelling the debate about deindustrialisation in Germany

• Industrial companies have become less attractive to employees because their wage advantage over other sectors has roughly halved within 10 years, the study said.

(Reporting by Maria Martinez and Klaus LauerEditing by Ludwig Burger)

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This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 8:17 PM.