BERLIN:Up to 90,000 jobs in Germany could be lost within a year due to U.S. tariff policy, according to Andrea Nahles, head of the Federal Employment Agency, in an interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung released on Friday.
Nahles cited research by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) and other economic institutes examining the impact of a 25% tariff rate on the German economy.
“The problem is this lack of predictability, which is doing us massive damage—it prevents companies from investing, hiring, and training people,” she said.
She described the U.S.’s erratic trade policy as a significant burden on the German labour market.
Unemployment in Germany rose faster than expected last month, with the number of jobless nearing 3 million—a level not seen in a decade. Ongoing economic stagnation is weighing on the job market despite long-standing labour shortages.
This adds further pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has pledged to reverse Germany’s two-year economic decline. However, new tariffs under U.S. President Donald Trump may undermine those efforts, potentially pushing Germany into a third consecutive year of recession—a scenario unprecedented in the country’s post-war history.
