Labor Market

WIESBADEN – October 30, 2026 -- The number of employed people living in Germany was unchanged in September 2026 on a seasonally adjusted basis, at about 45.60 million, but sat 211,000 (0.5%) below the level of a year earlier, according to preliminary Destatis figures.

The adjusted monthly change was -4,000 people (0.0%). From January to August 2026, employment had fallen by an average of 19,000 people per month, so the September reading marks a pause in that pace of decline.

Unadjusted employment rises 172,000 as autumn recovery begins

Without seasonal adjustment, the employed population grew by 172,000 (+0.4%) from August. That matches the typical seasonal gain: the September average for 2023 to 2025 was +170,000.

Reutlingen – October 29, 2026 -- A total of 186 of 228 eligible Stoll employees entered the MYPEGASUS transfer company after the Reutlingen knitting-machine maker shut down, and a large share have since found new jobs, according to the provider.

Stoll closed after more than 152 years, affecting 250 employees

Stoll, once a world market leader in knitting machines, ceased operations on October 31, 2025. Cheap textile production from the Far East first squeezed its customers and then the machine builder itself. The closure hit 250 employees and the wider region. The transfer company ran from November 1, 2025; the overall project continues until March 2028.

Berlin – October 28, 2026 -- Germany's tax administration employs 13.2 full-time staff per 10,000 residents, against an EU average of 9.3, yet its local tax offices left 6,869 positions unfilled in 2024. The figures come from a joint analysis of all 27 EU states by accounting software provider BuchhaltungsButler and data studio DataPulse Research.

Germany ranks seventh in the EU for tax staff per resident

EU tax administrations counted 416,274 full-time positions in 2024, of which 110,024 were in Germany. Per 10,000 inhabitants, the range runs from 4.3 in Spain to 21.6 in Luxembourg. Germany has one full-time post per roughly 760 residents; Italy has one per 1,850 and Spain one per 2,330.

Plover, Wisconsin – October 12, 2026 -- Women hold approximately 31% of C-suite and executive positions in trucking, but only 2.5% of diesel technician roles, according to the Women In Trucking Association's 2026-27 WIT Index.

The survey ran from November 2025 through April 2026 and drew about 210 respondents. Participating organizations reported demographics, the status of their diversity and inclusion policies, and the share of women in various roles.

Women hold 37.5% of supervisory roles and 29% of board seats

Women account for 37.5% of supervisory leadership positions and 29% of board of directors members among respondents. The C-suite share is approximately 31%.

HR leads functional roles at 76.5% women, while technicians trail at 2.5%

Women make up 76.5% of human resources and talent management roles, 45.5% of dispatchers and 44% of safety positions. Diesel technicians are the outlier: women hold just 2.5% of those roles.

Santa Clara, Calif. – September 30, 2026 -- The producer price index for new nonresidential construction inputs climbed 8.4% year over year through May 2026, the steepest annual increase since the pandemic period, according to DPR Construction's latest Market Conditions Report.

Cross-sector demand strains shared labor and supply pools

DPR Construction, a self-performing contractor, finds that investment across digital infrastructure, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, transportation and energy is pulling from the same pools of electricians, mechanical trades, commissioning specialists and field leaders. Projects that appear unrelated on paper are increasingly tied together through overlapping resource demands, the report states.

Los Angeles – September 30, 2026 -- California's economy expanded at an annualized 3.7% rate in the first quarter of 2026, nearly double the 2.1% national growth rate, even as the state's unemployment rate climbed to 5.1% in August, the highest of any U.S. state, according to the UCLA Anderson Forecast's September 2026 outlook.

California outpaces every state but Washington in growth while shedding jobs by one measure

Over the year ending in the first quarter, California GDP grew 3.3% versus 2.7% nationally. Payroll employment rose by 138,500 jobs over the 12 months through August, but a separate household survey showed 246,700 fewer Californians employed and a 351,100 drop in the labor force over the same period. The state's unemployment rate has stayed above 5% for 31 consecutive months.

San Francisco – September 29, 2026 -- America's small businesses added 28,000 net new jobs in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, marking the eighth consecutive month of positive hiring, according to Gusto's Small Business Jobs and Pay Report.

September hiring accelerated from a downwardly revised August figure

The September gain improved on August's total, which was revised down to 18,500 net new jobs from an initial estimate of 29,500. July's figure was also revised lower, to 39,700 from 42,400. Despite the September uptick, hiring remained below the 12-month average of 34,000, with recent monthly totals of 38,000 in May, 36,000 in June and 39,700 in July.

Washington, D.C. – September 25, 2026 -- The Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP) reported that its True Rate of Unemployment (TRU) fell 0.6 percentage points in August to 24.3%, down from 24.9% in July, partially reversing a four-month climb that began in March. The August reading still sits above January's 23.9%, following a 1.3-point rise between March and July. By contrast, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics headline unemployment rate held steady at 4.1% in August.

TRU Out of Population measure drops to 53.2%, tracking labor force participation gains

LISEP's TRU Out of the Population (TRU OOP)—which captures the share of the working-age population not functionally employed, including those who have exited the labor force—declined 0.6 percentage points to 53.2%. LISEP said the move aligns with the BLS-reported improvement in labor force participation.

Washington – September 24, 2026 -- App-based rideshare and delivery platforms supported $414 billion in U.S. economic activity in 2025, according to a new study commissioned by Flex, the trade association representing the sector's leading companies.

Drivers and couriers completed 6.3 billion orders, earning $8.9 billion in supplemental income

Some 9.4 million drivers and couriers completed a combined 6.3 billion rideshare and delivery orders with Flex member companies last year, generating $8.9 billion in additional income for workers. Order volume rose 29 percent since 2022, the report found.

Wiesbaden – September 16, 2026 -- Real revenue in Germany's licensed craft trades sector fell 1.4% in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported in preliminary figures. Employment in the sector dropped 1.9% by the end of June 2026 versus a year earlier.

Six of seven trade groups post revenue declines as construction and food sectors lead losses

The finishing trades, commercial-need trades and food trades each recorded the steepest real revenue drops among licensed craft groups, falling 2.4% year-on-year in the second quarter. Main construction trades saw revenue decline 1.8%, followed by private-need trades at -1.6% and the health trade at -1.0%. The automotive trade was the only group to post growth, with revenue rising 0.4%.