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Germany — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Germany, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
3.71%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -30.2% since 1991
Unemployment for Germany was 3.71% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 11.19% in 2005. The lowest was 3.07% in 2023 (about 1.2× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -1.05% per year.
Germany ranks 125 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 67%. The median for Europe & Central Asia is 5.58%, so Germany sits below it. It peaked in 2005 and has fallen 67% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 20%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
3.71%
First (1991)
5.32%
Change
-30.2%
Highest
11.19%
in 2005
Lowest
3.07%
in 2023
Average
6.64%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-1.05%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.71% |
| 2024 | 3.4% |
| 2023 | 3.07% |
| 2022 | 3.14% |
| 2021 | 3.59% |
| 2020 | 3.88% |
| 2019 | 3.16% |
| 2018 | 3.38% |
| 2017 | 3.78% |
| 2016 | 4.1% |
| 2015 | 4.61% |
| 2014 | 4.98% |
Reading this correctly. Share of the labor force without work but available for and seeking employment. National definitions differ, so cross-country comparison needs care. Figures are in % of total labor force. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS — Unemployment Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.