Activity status

According to the subsistence concept, which is based on respondents assigning themselves to a particular social group, the number of economically active was noticeably smaller. According to this method of calculation, 4 189 100 people constituted the workforce in the 3rd quarter of 2011; this is 172 000 less than the figure calculated according to the internationally used Labour Force Concept. The difference in numbers, depending on the method of calculation used, is in part due to the high number in part time employment according to the Labour Force Concept.

In the average for 2010, there were 4 284 600 people (2 302 200 men, 1 982 400 women) regarded as economically active according to the Labour Force Concept. This figure has increased steadily over the past decade. The slight decline from 2003 to 2004 and the considerable increase in the following year are partly attributable to the restructuring of the LFS. over the previous year the number of the economically active stayed at the same level. 4 096 000 people were employed in 2010, 410 000 more than ten years ago. This trend is almost exclusively due to female employed persons, who have shown a substantial increase in number since 2000. The number of unemployed persons is on a higher level than a decade ago, affecting 188 200 people in 2010; in comparison to 2009 there was a decrease of 16 000 unemployed. The number of not economically active aged 15 and over was 2 736 700 in 2010.

The activity rate for 15 to 64 year olds was 75.1% in 2010; the figure for men was 80.9% and the figure for women was 69.3%. Over the past few years, trends in labour force participation have differed for men and women. For men, the activity rate was 79.9% in 2000 and is now slightly higher (80.9%). For women, on the other hand, there has been an increase of 7.5 percentage points, with this increase applying to middle aged women in particular.

According to the subsistence concept, there were 4 166 000 people regarded as economically active in 2010 and 2 855 300 people aged 15 and over with another means of subsistence. Trends over the last decade have been similar to those under the Labour Force Concept. The number of women in employment increased from 1 529 900 in 2000 to 1 786 000 in 2010.

Note: Under the Labour Force Concept (ILO definition), a person is considered to be employed if he or she worked for at least one hour in the reference week, or did not work due to holiday, illness, etc. but is normally in employment. People with valid employment contracts who are drawing maternity/paternity or child benefit are included in the category of employed persons. A person is considered to be unemployed if he or she is not employed in the above sense, is taking active steps to look for work, and is able to start work at short notice. In the subsistence concept, respondents specify their social status themselves. Before 2004 persons who worked at least 12 hours per week were considered as employed, persons in parental leave with valid employment contracts included; since 2004 exclusively self-assessment. In principle, the data relates to the population living in private households without persons performing military or community service.

Please consult our German website for tables and charts containing further information.