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Clouds part over Germany’s job market

The Federal Employment Agency and leading business groups have expressed strong confidence in Germany’s job market, with unemployment unlikely to reach anywhere near the heights feared a year ago.

Published: 4 April 2010 11:53 CEST

Clouds part over Germany's job market

Photo: DPA

Federal Employment Agency (BA) chief Heinrich Alt said the agency’s research department expected an average of 3.5 million people would be jobless this year, well below the 4.7 million that experts were predicting 11 months ago.

“If this development continues in reality and not just in the prognoses, then we have escaped the economic crisis lightly,” he said.

Alt acknowledged there were still uncertainties for medium-sized businesses and problems surrounding the debt pile, but added: “The world economy has picked up again, Germany along with it, and the job market is profitting from that.”

The German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) president Hans Heinrich Driftmann, said he was very happy with the outlook, adding that growth of 2.3 percent this year was a realistic chance for Germany’s economy.

“Exports are picking up, companies are investing again,” Driftmann said. “Even if I expect a rise in joblessness over the course of the year, it clearly won’t be as bad as feared a few months ago.”

The DIHK expected the service industry would even create 300,000 new jobs this year.

The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts’ (ZDH) president, Otto Kentzler agreed the job market was astonishingly robust. In spite of the recession, activity in the skilled crafts industry was largely stable.

“After a marginal drop in 2009, we expect activity to be steady this year,” Kentzler said.

Last week, the BA announced the number of people out of work in Germany had dropped unexpectedly to 8.5 percent in March. There were a total of 3.57 million people without jobs, the agency said, a drop of 75,000 from the previous month. In February, unemployment had been 8.7 percent, according to unadjusted data.

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Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

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