BERLIN: German employment reached a record high in 2019 as higher labour-market participation and increased immigration of foreign workers more than offset demographic change, the statistics office said on Thursday.
The number of people with jobs rose by 402,000, or 0.9 per cent, to 45.3 million despite weaker economic growth last year, the office said. It grew 1.2 per cent the previous year.
“This means that the uninterrupted growth in employment levels that we have seen over the past 14 years is still continuing, albeit with reduced momentum,” the office added.
Services recorded the highest year-on-year increase, of 319,000. The number of people with jobs in manufacturing rose by 59,000. Employment in construction rose by 36,000. The labour market boom is also helping workers get better jobs with improved social security and higher pay. “The number of employees subject to social insurance contributions increased again, whereas the total of marginally employed people (including those employed on a low-pay or short-term basis) continued to decrease,” the office said. — Reuters
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
