ifo: German industry lost 496 thousand jobs between 2019 and 2025

German industry employed 496 thousand fewer people at the end of 2025 than at the beginning of 2019, according to a study published by the Dresden branch of the ifo Institute on October 19.

The study covers employees subject to compulsory social insurance contributions. Automotive companies shed 123.5 thousand jobs over the period, metalworking companies lost 115.6 thousand and machinery manufacturers cut 64.5 thousand.

Those industries accounted for about 60% of industrial job losses, according to Joachim Ragnitz, head of ifo Dresden.

Separately, the institute recorded a decline of 243 thousand jobs at temporary employment agencies. Many agency employees worked in industry. The agency figure does not mean that all those jobs were lost at industrial companies.

Ragnitz warned that a shift toward sectors with less scope for productivity gains and innovation could slow Germany's economic growth.

Services added 2.2 million jobs over the same period. Growth was concentrated primarily in healthcare, social services and public administration.