Seasonal increase in unemployment – ​​further training on trend

The current labor market report from the Kempten-Memmingen employment agency reveals figures for August. Due to seasonal factors, the number of registered unemployed people rose this month.

Memmingen/Unterallgäu – In August, the number of unemployed people in the area covered by the Kempten-Memmingen employment agency continued to rise: “The unemployment rate is 3.0 percent, which is an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to July,” explains Horst Holas, deputy head of the employment agency.

He continues: “Almost 12,200 people are currently registered as unemployed in the Bavarian Allgäu.” This is of course a predominantly seasonal effect in August. As in July, even more people – mostly young people – have registered as unemployed after completing their training, school or university. Many professional training measures have also ended. In addition, many companies do not hire new people during the holidays – some of them are on company holidays themselves or many of their employees are on summer vacation. New hires are often postponed until autumn. Nevertheless, unemployment has been rising annually since 2022 – around 1,700 more people are registered as unemployed in the current month than in August 2022. And this increase is primarily due to the economic situation. Allgäu companies have become more cautious about hiring new people. The number of jobs has been steadily declining since August 2022. At the moment, with just under 6,800 jobs, it is roughly at the level of August in the pre-Corona year of 2019: still a good level, but of course the downward trend cannot be denied.” And he advises: “Companies’ need for skilled workers remains very high. Low-skilled people should take every opportunity to qualify as skilled workers – that is the best protection against unemployment. Especially in professions where there is a shortage of skilled workers, such as nursing or education, the labor market offers very good long-term prospects. And in many cases we can offer funding.”

More unemployed than last year

In the city of Memmingen, 1,022 people were registered as unemployed as of August – 19 more than in July and 23 more than in the same month last year. In the district of Unterallgäu, the number of people registered as unemployed was 2,288 – an increase of 6.1 percent compared to July and 15.1 percent compared to August 2023.

The slight increase in unemployment figures compared to the previous year in Memmingen was due exclusively to people registered as unemployed with the employment agency (SGB III): the increase of 13.3 percent (67 people) is in contrast to the number of people registered as unemployed with the job center (44 people). The unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in Memmingen and 2.6 percent in Unterallgäu, 0.1 point higher in both than in July. Compared to the previous year, the rate for Memmingen remained the same, while in Unterallgäu it rose slightly by 0.3 points.

Compared to August 2023, the unemployment figures in Unterallgäu rose by 12.2 percent in the area of ​​the employment agencies (SGB III) and by 19.2 percent in the area of ​​the job center (SGB II). The district of Unterallgäu is the only local authority in the Kempten-Memmingen agency district where the increase in unemployment this month compared to the previous year is borne to a greater extent by the job center area.

Job market is behavior

In August, Memmingen companies reported 114 new positions to be replaced to the employment agency – 2 more than in the previous year and 11 more than in July. Almost twice as many were reported in Unterallgäu: 233 new positions. Compared to the previous month, that is around a third more.

The total number of vacancies in Memmingen was 668 (-6.4 percent compared to August 2023 / -2.6 percent compared to July 2024) and in Unterallgäu 1,505 (-13.2 percent compared to August 2023 / +0.2 percent compared to July 2024). ). A particularly large number are sought in the areas of sales, warehousing and postal delivery, energy and electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and industrial engineering, and metal construction and processing.

Young professionals have great opportunities

Since October 2023, 219 young people from Memmingen and 662 young people from Unterallgäu, almost as many as in the previous year, have registered with the employment agency looking for training.

Memmingen companies reported 757 apprenticeships to the employment agency. This was 0.9 percent (2 people) more applicants than in the same period last year and 5.7 percent (-46 positions) fewer reported apprenticeships.

Companies in Unterallgäu announced 1,204 vacant apprenticeships: slightly fewer (-0.7 percent or -8 positions) than a year ago. In August, 232 apprenticeships in Memmingen were still unfilled and 22 people looking for training were without a training place: This resulted in a ratio of “unplaced” young people to unfilled apprenticeships of more than 1:10. In Unterallgäu, the ratio is similar at 1:9: 48 people looking for training come to 462 unfilled apprenticeships.

Further training is increasing

It is the job of the employment agency to ensure a balance in the labor market using labor market policy instruments. These include, for example, measures for taking up employment or for professional training. If you compare the number of participants in August last year with those in the current month, you can see an increase in all types of measures.

A particularly strong increase in participants can be seen in vocational training measures: with 1,516 participants this month, 413 people (37.4 percent) more than a year ago are taking part in further training supported by employment agencies or job centers. In addition to partial qualifications – e.g. certified CNC knowledge in the field of mechanical production – retraining, for example in the field of education and child care, is also supported. Horst Holas explains: “Companies can train employees they already have who have no or insufficient qualifications to become the skilled workers they need.” This helps both sides: the company can alleviate its shortage of skilled workers, and the low-skilled employees often receive a higher salary after the qualification, can possibly move up even further and reduce the risk of dismissal in times of increasing unemployment. A win-win situation.”

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