Labor market in Berlin and Brandenburg: Number of unemployed rose slightly in June
Labor market in Berlin and Brandenburg
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Number of unemployed increased slightly in June
The effects of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine are evidently also having an impact on the region’s labor market in June. There are slightly more unemployed than in May – but at the same time significantly fewer than a year ago.
The number of people without work rose slightly in Berlin and Brandenburg in June, but is well below the level of the same month last year. This was announced by the regional directorate of the employment agency on Thursday.
According to this, 175,967 people were unemployed in Berlin in June. That is 2,869 more than in May, but also 23,378 fewer than a year earlier. The unemployment rate is now 8.7 percent, 0.2 percentage points higher than in May and 1.1 percentage points lower than June 2021.
In Brandenburg, unemployment rose by 2,697 to 72,016 in June. At the same time, that is 5,569 fewer than in June 2021. The unemployment rate is 5.4 percent and, like in Berlin, 0.2 percentage points higher than in May. Year-on-year, the unemployment rate in Brandenburg fell by 0.4 percentage points.
Escape movements are noticeable
The regional directorate of the employment agency attributes the moderate increase in the number of unemployed in Berlin and Brandenburg to several reasons. These include imponderables such as shortages of materials during construction, delays in some supply chains and significant price increases. However, these factors would probably not have “massively stopped the recovery on the labor market,” emphasized agency boss Ramona Schröder.
Nevertheless, in June the effects of the flight movements from Ukraine due to the Russian war of aggression were “already clearly visible,” Schröder continued: “For example, in the increase in unemployment among women, who represent the main group of refugees.”
At the same time, Schröder said he was pleased with the increase in employment in Berlin and Brandenburg. In June, it increased by 4.5 percent in Berlin, which is 2.5 percentage points above the national average. “In Brandenburg it is 1.7 percent. That is a noticeable improvement,” says Schröder.
Unemployment has risen nationwide
Nationwide, unemployment also rose in June – for the first time in months. According to the Federal Employment Agency, 2.36 million people were unemployed last month. That’s 103,000 more than in May, but 251,000 fewer than a year ago. The unemployment rate rose 0.3 points to 5.2 percent.
The Federal Employment Agency (BA) also justifies this with the situation in Ukraine.
“The labor market as a whole continues to be stable,” said BA boss Detlef Scheele. Unemployment and underemployment increased sharply in June. “But these increases are due to the fact that the refugees marked as such are now visible in the job centers and recorded in the labor market statistics,” says Scheele.
Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, June 30, 2022, 10 a.m