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Three mln jobless… and many hundreds of thousands of job vacancies! - Merz as unemployment rate remains at 2.5% in Germany

Three mln jobless… and many hundreds of thousands of job vacancies! - Merz as unemployment rate remains at 2.5% in Germany

"As unemployment rates have plummeted 'over three million' for the first time in a decade, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz unveiled plans to solve the pending problem by filling empty vacancies on the labour market with an unemployed population. This was said during his address to party associates from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Bonn on Saturday. "If you look at the unemployment statistics, it can also be read there that we have many hundreds of thousands of job vacancies in Germany that we cannot fill. We will change this system," he said. "The way it is now, especially with the so-called citizen's income, it cannot remain." According to EUROSTAT, the job vacancy rate in Germany remained at 2.5 percent as of June 2025, with 1,05 million empty vacancies. This number is slightly higher than the European Union (EU) average of 2.1 percent. Merz also reaffirmed his commitment in fighting 'illegal migration'. Pledging to keep the annual number of applications under 100,000 per year, he highlighted that '10,000 illegal migrants' have been repatriated from Germany since May. "This is a great success of this government," he commented. "This is not only a significant number. It is a clear signal that refugee and immigration policies do things differently." In addition, Merz insisted that similar stricter migration and border security policies should be extended to the whole EU. "We want a common European asylum and immigration policy. That is why we are advocating so strongly for reforms in the European Union regarding the so-called GER system. So, we are tackling important reforms for our country," he stated. Turning to the international agenda, the German Chancellor declared readiness to 'lead' Europe through the current times of the 'profound epochal shift'. "I confidently claim for myself that if the German Chancellor does not perform this task, to keep the Europeans united, especially on such a crucial matter of war and peace, ensuring there is unity at the European level, if the German Chancellor does not do this, then no one else in Europe will," Merz said. "If Germany is ready to take on leadership in Europe again, if Europe stands together, then we have a chance to be heard. Then we can assert our interests. We can achieve our freedom and our security together," he added. Among signs of major changes on the global stage, Merz noted the creation of the 'new NATO' - with a primary focus on increased defence.  "Now we are on a new path of defence policy, of defending our security, of defending our freedom. And please, let there be no illusions about that," he said. In this regard, he announced that compulsory military service, which was suspended in 2011 under then-Chancellor Angela Merkel, would be reinstated. Seeking to strengthen German defence capabilities, he also promised more ‘special funds and the new debts’ for the armed forces. "If we want to make the Bundeswehr the strongest conventional army in Europe, then we need to ensure modern barracks and recruit personnel," he said. "The goal is to put barracks back into operation, recruit personnel, train instructors and ensure that we then once again have a sufficiently large number of female and male soldiers to watch over our armed forces." The announcement comes after on Wednesday, Germany's cabinet passed a draft bill that would introduce a voluntary military service. The bill aims to boost the number of trained reservists from around 100,000 to 260,000 by the early 2030s."