Germany's labour market showed little net change in March, with the number of unemployed people holding steady on a seasonally adjusted basis at 2.977 million, the labour office reported on Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate also remained unchanged at 6.3% compared with February, matching expectations.
Analysts and economists had expected a modest rise of 2,000 in the jobless total in a recent poll, but the official count did not move. Labour office director Andrea Nahles characterised the month as the start of the typical spring upswing in employment, while also noting its muted strength this year.
"As usual, the spring upturn in the labour market begins in March, however, without any significant momentum this year," labour office head Andrea Nahles said in a statement.
Registered vacancies stood at 638,000 in March, a decrease of 5,000 from the same month a year earlier, according to labour office data. The labour office noted that labour-market indicators often respond with a delay to geopolitical shocks - for example conflicts in the Middle East - because firms may wait to see the economic consequences before reducing hiring or cutting jobs.
On the macroeconomic front, Germany's export-led economy has struggled to regain sustained growth since the COVID-19 pandemic. The labour office and other commentators point to rising competition from China and persistently higher energy costs as ongoing strains on the recovery. A renewed surge in energy prices linked to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is cited as an additional risk to momentum.
In response to recent developments, Germany's leading economic institutes have trimmed their economic growth forecasts for this year and the next and have sharply raised inflation projections, according to sources. These forecast adjustments reflect the combination of slower growth prospects and upward pressures on prices.
While headline unemployment and the jobless rate were unchanged in March, the data underline a labour market that is beginning the seasonal recovery without strong underlying vitality, even as vacancies remain elevated but slightly below last year's level.