---
title: "German Factories Have Shed Nearly 500,000 Jobs Since 2019…"
canonical: "https://www.metaintro.com/blog/germany-industry-lost-500000-jobs-since-2019-ifo"
language: "en"
author: "drashtigarach"
published: "2026-10-20T11:06:31.000Z"
modified: "2026-10-20T11:06:31.000Z"
---

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# German Factories Have Shed Nearly 500,000 Jobs Since 2019 While Services Added 2.2 Million

German industry lost 496,000 jobs from 2019 to 2025 while services added over 2.2 million, an ifo study finds. See where the jobs went and how to retrain.

[![Drashti Garach](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:40:40/q:72/plain/images/5719d740-e510-42bc-8017-e040d145f35f_1766029465094.png)Drashti Garach @DrashtiGarach](/blog/author/drashtigarach)

[October 20, 2026](/blog/archive/2026/10)12 min read

![An old red-brick German factory with a tall chimney and a closed loading gate](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:1200:675/q:78/plain/images/germany-industry-lost-500000-jobs-since-2019-ifo-hero.jpg)

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German industry had [496,000 fewer people in jobs subject to social security contributions at the end of 2025 than at the start of 2019, a drop of 7.1%](https://www.ifo.de/pressemitteilung/2026-10-19/deutsche-industrie-verlor-seit-2019-fast-eine-halbe-million-arbeitsplaetze) (translated), according to a new study from the Dresden branch of the ifo Institute released on October 19. Over the same stretch, [services added more than 2.2 million jobs, with gains concentrated in health care, social services, and public administration](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/german-industry-lost-nearly-500-000-jobs-in-7-years-study/4093588). Three sectors, [car makers and suppliers, metal businesses and the machinery sector, account for around 60% of the cuts](https://www.dailysabah.com/business/economy/german-industry-lost-nearly-500000-jobs-since-2019-ifo). For [Metaintro](https://www.metaintro.com) readers working in or around German manufacturing, this guide sets out what the study counted, which trades shrank, where hiring moved, which occupations still face shortages, and how the federal employment agency can pay for a move into a new field through its [education voucher](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/karriere-und-weiterbildung/bildungsgutschein).

## What Exactly Did the ifo Study Count?

The study [compares the reference dates of 31 December 2018 and 31 December 2025](https://www.ifo.de/pressemitteilung/2026-10-19/deutsche-industrie-verlor-seit-2019-fast-eine-halbe-million-arbeitsplaetze) (translated), so the seven-year window ends with last year's figures, not this year's. It draws on [employment statistics from the Federal Employment Agency, which cover everyone in jobs subject to social security contributions](https://www.ifo.de/pressemitteilung/2026-10-19/deutsche-industrie-verlor-seit-2019-fast-eine-halbe-million-arbeitsplaetze) (translated).

Some groups sit outside that count. The data [excludes self-employed workers, civil servants, and people in marginal employment known as mini-jobs](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/german-industry-lost-nearly-500-000-jobs-in-7-years-study/4093588), so the figures cover employees in jobs subject to social security contributions.

The headline compares headcount on two dates. Industrial employment [fell by 496,000, or 7.1%, over the period](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/german-industry-lost-nearly-500-000-jobs-in-7-years-study/4093588).

## Which Industries Lost the Most Factory Jobs?

Three sectors carry most of the decline. [The auto industry and its suppliers shed 123,500 jobs, a loss of 13%](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/german-industry-lost-nearly-500-000-jobs-in-7-years-study/4093588), [metal businesses employed 115,600 fewer workers](https://www.dailysabah.com/business/economy/german-industry-lost-nearly-500000-jobs-since-2019-ifo), and mechanical engineering companies [reduced employment by 64,500](https://www.ifo.de/pressemitteilung/2026-10-19/deutsche-industrie-verlor-seit-2019-fast-eine-halbe-million-arbeitsplaetze) (translated). Together, [these three sectors stand for around 60 percent of the cuts](https://radioosnabrueck.de/eine-halbe-million-industriearbeitsplaetze-seit-2019-verloren/) (translated).

Temporary agency work tells a second story. Agency staffing [lost 243,000 workers, many of whom had worked in manufacturing, and counting them in, industry lost around 628,000 jobs](https://radioosnabrueck.de/eine-halbe-million-industriearbeitsplaetze-seit-2019-verloren/) (translated). That wider figure matters for people who worked on factory lines through an agency rather than on the manufacturer's own payroll, because their jobs are counted under agency work, not under industry.

Joachim Ragnitz, deputy head of [the ifo Institute's Dresden branch](https://www.ifo.de/pressemitteilung/2026-10-19/deutsche-industrie-verlor-seit-2019-fast-eine-halbe-million-arbeitsplaetze) (translated), linked the decline to competitiveness. Employment is [shrinking in almost all industrial sectors, which is likely a result of declining competitiveness, particularly against China](https://www.ifo.de/pressemitteilung/2026-10-19/deutsche-industrie-verlor-seit-2019-fast-eine-halbe-million-arbeitsplaetze) (translated), and Ragnitz added that [traditional German core sectors such as the auto industry and mechanical engineering are hit especially hard](https://www.ifo.de/pressemitteilung/2026-10-19/deutsche-industrie-verlor-seit-2019-fast-eine-halbe-million-arbeitsplaetze) (translated).

> The new jobs are for the most part not being created where Germany is especially productive and innovative. That may slow down our growth potential in the future, Joachim Ragnitz of ifo said, according to [the Daily Sabah wire report](https://www.dailysabah.com/business/economy/german-industry-lost-nearly-500000-jobs-since-2019-ifo).

## Where Did the More Than 2.2 Million New Jobs Appear?

[New jobs came above all in health care and social services](https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/knapp-eine-halbe-million-stellen-seit-2019-rapider-jobverlust-in-deutscher-industrie-102.html) (translated). [Health care added 391,000 new jobs and social services including care homes added 357,000, which Ragnitz put down mainly to the ageing population](https://www.ifo.de/pressemitteilung/2026-10-19/deutsche-industrie-verlor-seit-2019-fast-eine-halbe-million-arbeitsplaetze) (translated).

Public administration also grew. Employment subject to social security contributions there [grew by 329,000 people, partly because posts of departing civil servants were refilled with salaried employees](https://www.ifo.de/pressemitteilung/2026-10-19/deutsche-industrie-verlor-seit-2019-fast-eine-halbe-million-arbeitsplaetze) (translated). Part of that rise reflects a change in contract type rather than entirely new posts, since [civil servants are excluded from the data](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/german-industry-lost-nearly-500-000-jobs-in-7-years-study/4093588) while salaried staff are counted.

[IT firms grew the most among private service providers](https://radioosnabrueck.de/eine-halbe-million-industriearbeitsplaetze-seit-2019-verloren/) (translated).

Ragnitz said that ["ironically, the very sectors that have sustained our prosperity up to now are shrinking"](https://www.dailysabah.com/business/economy/german-industry-lost-nearly-500000-jobs-since-2019-ifo).

## How Did Workers With Vocational Training Fare?

The study also splits the change by qualification. [The number of employees with vocational training fell by 252,000, while 1.8 million new jobs were created for university graduates](https://www.ifo.de/pressemitteilung/2026-10-19/deutsche-industrie-verlor-seit-2019-fast-eine-halbe-million-arbeitsplaetze) (translated). Separately, [labor supply and demand often do not match on qualification, occupation or region](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/presse/2026-32-fachkraefte-bleiben-knapp-zuwanderung-gewinnt-weiter-an-bedeutung) (translated), according to the Federal Employment Agency's shortage analysis.

That does not mean vocational routes are closed. Nursing is one example, since people start [vocational training as a nursing professional](https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de/DE/Statischer-Content/Statistiken/Themen-im-Fokus/Berufe/Online-KV/Pflege.html) (translated), and the federal employment agency funds retraining into care, as the sections below show. Nursing sits alongside social work among the [helping professions](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/helping-professions).

## Which Regions Felt the Industrial Decline Most?

The decline reached nearly everywhere, and [every federal state except Hamburg felt the industrial decline, with minus 8.4 percent in the east and minus 6.8 percent in the west](https://radioosnabrueck.de/eine-halbe-million-industriearbeitsplaetze-seit-2019-verloren/) (translated).

Brandenburg stood out in the east. In eastern Germany, [new jobs in car manufacturing appeared only in Brandenburg, thanks to the Tesla factory in Grünheide](https://www.ifo.de/pressemitteilung/2026-10-19/deutsche-industrie-verlor-seit-2019-fast-eine-halbe-million-arbeitsplaetze) (translated). By contrast, [in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, total employment even fell](https://radioosnabrueck.de/eine-halbe-million-industriearbeitsplaetze-seit-2019-verloren/) (translated), not just the industrial part.

> Industrial employment declined in every German state except Hamburg, falling 8.4% in eastern Germany and 6.8% in the west, according to [the Anadolu Agency report on the ifo study](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/german-industry-lost-nearly-500-000-jobs-in-7-years-study/4093588).

## How Does the ifo Figure Compare With Other Counts and the Latest Job Market Data?

Other counts give different totals. [Industrial employment losses reached 341,500 since 2019](https://aa.com.tr/en/economy/german-industry-loses-over-341-000-jobs-in-7-years/3948069) by the first quarter of 2026, with [automotive losses at approximately 125,800](https://aa.com.tr/en/economy/german-industry-loses-over-341-000-jobs-in-7-years/3948069), in EY's Industry Barometer published in May. The ifo figures rest on [Federal Employment Agency data on jobs subject to social security contributions](https://www.ifo.de/pressemitteilung/2026-10-19/deutsche-industrie-verlor-seit-2019-fast-eine-halbe-million-arbeitsplaetze) (translated) and cover a different period, so the two totals are not directly comparable, but both point the same way, with autos among the hardest hit.

The labor market's autumn upturn [got off to a sluggish start](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/presse/2026-37-arbeitsmarkt-im-september-2026) (translated). In September 2026, [unemployment fell by 67,000 to 2,994,000 and the jobless rate dropped 0.1 percentage points to 6.4%](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/presse/2026-37-arbeitsmarkt-im-september-2026) (translated), yet it was [40,000 higher than in September last year](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/presse/2026-37-arbeitsmarkt-im-september-2026) (translated). Employment subject to social security contributions stood at [an estimated 34.68 million in July 2026, 84,000 lower than a year earlier](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/presse/2026-37-arbeitsmarkt-im-september-2026) (translated).

Demand for staff [remains weak](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/presse/2026-37-arbeitsmarkt-im-september-2026) (translated), though in September, [660,000 vacancies were registered with the Federal Employment Agency, 30,000 more than a year earlier](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/presse/2026-37-arbeitsmarkt-im-september-2026) (translated). Agency chair Andrea Nahles said that [the economic improvement is not yet reaching the labor market](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/presse/2026-37-arbeitsmarkt-im-september-2026) (translated).

## Which Occupations Still Cannot Find Enough Skilled Workers?

[Skilled worker shortages showed up in 157 occupational groups in 2025, six fewer than the year before](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/presse/2026-32-fachkraefte-bleiben-knapp-zuwanderung-gewinnt-weiter-an-bedeutung) (translated), in the Federal Employment Agency's annual shortage analysis.

[Care and health occupations were again among those with the strongest shortages in 2025, with shortages also in construction and skilled trades, and cooks, professional drivers and early childhood educators are also sought](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/presse/2026-32-fachkraefte-bleiben-knapp-zuwanderung-gewinnt-weiter-an-bedeutung) (translated).

Some industrial and tech roles dropped off. Unlike the previous year, [no shortages were found in 2025 in machining metalwork, IT sales or software development](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/presse/2026-32-fachkraefte-bleiben-knapp-zuwanderung-gewinnt-weiter-an-bedeutung) (translated), while surveying technology and social work were among the new or returning shortage fields. A machinist looking for a like-for-like role is therefore entering a field where [the agency no longer found a shortage in 2025](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/presse/2026-32-fachkraefte-bleiben-knapp-zuwanderung-gewinnt-weiter-an-bedeutung) (translated).

The mismatch is visible in the vacancy numbers. On annual average, [around 402,000 jobs for skilled workers, specialists and experts were registered in 2025, a large share of them in shortage occupations, yet only about one in five unemployed skilled workers was looking for work in a shortage occupation](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/presse/2026-32-fachkraefte-bleiben-knapp-zuwanderung-gewinnt-weiter-an-bedeutung) (translated).

## What Does Care Work Look Like as a Next Step?

Care stands out in the agency's own figures. [Around 1.8 million care workers were in jobs subject to social security contributions in Germany in 2025, up 2% on the year before, while total employment subject to social security contributions stagnated](https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de/DE/Statischer-Content/Statistiken/Themen-im-Fokus/Berufe/Online-KV/Pflege.html) (translated). [Median pay in care has risen faster than in the economy as a whole in recent years](https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de/DE/Statischer-Content/Statistiken/Themen-im-Fokus/Berufe/Online-KV/Pflege.html) (translated).

The openings are for qualified staff. On annual average, [around 31,000 job offers for care workers were registered with the Federal Employment Agency in 2025](https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de/DE/Statischer-Content/Statistiken/Themen-im-Fokus/Berufe/Online-KV/Pflege.html) (translated), and [96% of registered vacancies are aimed at qualified nursing professionals or nursing assistants, while slightly more than half of the unemployed are looking for a helper role that needs no vocational qualification](https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de/DE/Statischer-Content/Statistiken/Themen-im-Fokus/Berufe/Online-KV/Pflege.html) (translated).

That gap shows up in unemployment. [The occupation-specific unemployment rate for care workers rose from 3.2% in 2024 to 3.4% in 2025, while the rate for qualified nursing professionals stayed very low at 1.1%](https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de/DE/Statischer-Content/Statistiken/Themen-im-Fokus/Berufe/Online-KV/Pflege.html) (translated).

Training numbers are rising. [More than 59,000 people started training as a nursing professional in the 2024 to 2025 training year, according to the Federal Statistical Office, a new high](https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de/DE/Statischer-Content/Statistiken/Themen-im-Fokus/Berufe/Online-KV/Pflege.html) (translated), and [the Federal Employment Agency funded around 30,000 people starting further training in a care occupation in 2025, including around 8,000 who began retraining as a nursing professional or nursing assistant](https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de/DE/Statischer-Content/Statistiken/Themen-im-Fokus/Berufe/Online-KV/Pflege.html) (translated).

## How Can a Factory Worker Get Retraining Paid For?

One tool is the education voucher, or Bildungsgutschein. You can receive one [if further training is necessary to end your unemployment or to avert threatened unemployment](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/karriere-und-weiterbildung/bildungsgutschein) (translated), and [the individual requirements are discussed with you in a personal advice meeting](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/karriere-und-weiterbildung/bildungsgutschein) (translated). Employees can also be supported [within an existing employment relationship through full or partial payment of training costs](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/karriere-und-weiterbildung/bildungsgutschein) (translated).

Costs that can be paid include [course fees including required learning materials, work clothing and exam fees, travel costs, childcare during the training, and accommodation and meals away from home if daily commuting is not reasonable](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/karriere-und-weiterbildung/bildungsgutschein) (translated), and [which of these costs apply in your case is settled in the advice meeting](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/karriere-und-weiterbildung/bildungsgutschein) (translated). If you start training while receiving unemployment benefit, [it is usually paid on](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/karriere-und-weiterbildung/bildungsgutschein) (translated).

There is extra money for courses that end in a qualification. For funded training that leads to a qualification, such as a retraining, [you receive a monthly supplement of 150 euros](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/karriere-und-weiterbildung/bildungsgutschein) (translated), and under certain conditions [a bonus of 1,000 euros for passing the intermediate exam, the first part of a split final exam or an equivalent exam, and 1,500 euros for passing the final exam](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/karriere-und-weiterbildung/bildungsgutschein) (translated).

The steps are short:

- **Contact your local agency or job centre.** [You are then invited to an advice meeting, and you can request the appointment online](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/karriere-und-weiterbildung/bildungsgutschein) (translated).
- **Talk through your plan.** After the meeting [you find out whether you meet the individual requirements for funded training](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/karriere-und-weiterbildung/bildungsgutschein) (translated).
- **Pick an approved course.** [The training provider you choose and the course must be approved by an accredited body](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/karriere-und-weiterbildung/bildungsgutschein) (translated), and courses can be searched through [the voucher page's link to the mein NOW portal](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/karriere-und-weiterbildung/bildungsgutschein) (translated).
- **Note the limits.** The voucher [is usually time-limited, regionally limited and restricted to a specific training goal](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/karriere-und-weiterbildung/bildungsgutschein) (translated).

## What This Means for Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

The ifo numbers describe what Ragnitz calls an [accelerated structural shift](https://www.dailysabah.com/business/economy/german-industry-lost-nearly-500000-jobs-since-2019-ifo) spread over seven years, not a single wave of layoffs. Across seven years, jobs were lost in [car making, metal products and machine building](https://www.ifo.de/pressemitteilung/2026-10-19/deutsche-industrie-verlor-seit-2019-fast-eine-halbe-million-arbeitsplaetze) (translated) and added in [health care, social services and public administration](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/german-industry-lost-nearly-500-000-jobs-in-7-years-study/4093588). A factory worker in Germany can plan the next move early, while still employed.

- **Check whether your trade is still short of workers.** The agency's [shortage analysis is published in an interactive web application covering every shortage occupation and its regional picture](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/presse/2026-32-fachkraefte-bleiben-knapp-zuwanderung-gewinnt-weiter-an-bedeutung) (translated). If your field is no longer listed, that is a signal to widen your search.
- **Ask about a voucher early.** A voucher can also be issued [to avert threatened unemployment](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/karriere-und-weiterbildung/bildungsgutschein) (translated), if your individual requirements are met. Book the advice meeting while you still have an income.
- **Aim for the qualified level.** In care, [96% of registered vacancies are aimed at qualified nursing professionals or nursing assistants, and the jobless rate for qualified nursing professionals was 1.1% in 2025](https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de/DE/Statischer-Content/Statistiken/Themen-im-Fokus/Berufe/Online-KV/Pflege.html) (translated), so the training level matters.
- **Carry your industrial skills across.** List habits such as precision, safety discipline, shift work and quality control among the [skills for your manufacturing resume](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/manufacturing-resume-skills) when you apply in a new sector.
- **Think about place.** Industrial employment fell [in every German state except Hamburg](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/german-industry-lost-nearly-500-000-jobs-in-7-years-study/4093588), and total employment also fell in [Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt](https://radioosnabrueck.de/eine-halbe-million-industriearbeitsplaetze-seit-2019-verloren/) (translated), so weigh a commute or a move alongside a local search.

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## People Also Asked

### Q: How many industrial jobs has Germany lost over seven years?

A: German industry had [496,000 fewer employees subject to social security contributions at the end of 2025 than at the start of 2019, a drop of 7.1%](https://www.ifo.de/pressemitteilung/2026-10-19/deutsche-industrie-verlor-seit-2019-fast-eine-halbe-million-arbeitsplaetze) (translated), and including temporary agency staff [the loss rises to around 628,000 jobs](https://radioosnabrueck.de/eine-halbe-million-industriearbeitsplaetze-seit-2019-verloren/) (translated).

### Q: Where were Germany's new jobs created?

A: Services added [more than 2.2 million jobs](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/german-industry-lost-nearly-500-000-jobs-in-7-years-study/4093588), with gains concentrated in [health care (391,000) and social services (357,000)](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/german-industry-lost-nearly-500-000-jobs-in-7-years-study/4093588) as well as public administration.

### Q: Can I get retraining funded in Germany if my factory job is at risk?

A: Yes, potentially. The Federal Employment Agency can issue an education voucher [if further training is necessary to end unemployment or avert threatened unemployment](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/karriere-und-weiterbildung/bildungsgutschein) (translated), after a personal advice meeting.

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