The chances of getting a job in Germany are getting better and better: The labor market barometer of the Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research (IAB) rose for the fifth time in a row and now shows 103.4 points. A score of 100 would reflect a neutral situation, 90 would be a particularly bad work situation, 110 an extremely good one.

For the barometer, the institute surveys all German employment agencies for their assessments for the next three months. This means that the Nuremberg researchers' instrument is an early indicator of the situation on the German labor market in the near future.

The labor market is leaving the energy crisis behind

The European barometer has also increased again: at 101.8 points, it is again well above the neutral mark of 100 points, as the IAB announced on Wednesday in Nuremberg. "The job markets in Europe are also rattling their way out of the energy crisis," judged the IAB researchers. All Eastern European countries have increased, some significantly.

"The job market continues to pick up, the economy is gradually leaving the energy crisis behind," said Enzo Weber, head of the IAB research department for forecasts and macroeconomic analyses.

The employment component of the barometer increased by 0.6 points to 105.5 points in March. This shows that the number of employees is growing rapidly. The component predicting unemployment remains unchanged at 101.3 points. Although it is in positive territory, it is significantly weaker than employment. "One reason for this is that immigration, especially from the Ukraine, increases employment, but initially also causes unemployment to rise," says an IAB statement.

Long-term unemployment is hardly going down

It can also be observed that fewer unemployed people are taking up employment than before the corona pandemic, even though the number of vacancies is at a record high. "During the corona crisis, long-term unemployment increased significantly and since 2021 it has only been falling slowly despite the high demand for workers. Further labor market policy efforts are necessary to accelerate the job taking by the unemployed and to counteract entrenching unemployment more effectively," said Weber.

The employment barometer from the Munich Ifo Institute also rose again slightly. "Companies are ready to hire more staff again," says the Munich experts. The Ifo barometer rose to 99.9 points in March, after 99.4 points in February. "The labor market is proving to be very robust," said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of the Ifo surveys.