MNI BRIEF: German Jobs Data Belies Worst Industry Fear - IWH

The number of German firms that went bankrupt in August fell 11% from July’s record high, but while the number of jobs lost rose overall there is not yet evidence that German industry is in freefall, according to an analysis published by the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research Halle (IWH).

Some 1,409 companies went bust in August, significantly fewer than in July, due in part to seasonal effects, although the number of redundancies at the largest 10% of affected enterprises rose 30% on the previous month, to 12,000. Of those, however, approximately 3,700 were in industry - roughly half the monthly figure seen between September 2024 and February 2025.

“The current insolvency figures do not confirm fears of acute deindustrialisation,” Steffen Müller, head of insolvency research at the IWH said. “Although the level of the leading indicators suggests that many insolvencies are to be expected in the autumn, their impact on the labour market is likely to remain moderate.”