In 2012, the average number of persons in employment whose place of residence is in Germany amounted to approximately 41.5 million, up one percent or 416,000 persons compared to 2011. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on the basis of the first preliminary calculations, the number of persons in employment reached a new record level for the sixth year in a row. Employment rose less strongly in 2012 compared with 2011, in which the number of persons in employment had increased by 550,000 or 1.4 percent.

According to provisional estimates, on an annual average in 2012 the number of unemployed people in Germany decreased by 162,000 to 2.34 million on a year earlier. The unemployment rate was down from 5.7 percent in 2011 to 5.3 percent in 2012.