Labor market under pressure: increase in unemployment in Borken and Coesfeld

Labor market under pressure: increase in unemployment in Borken and Coesfeld

At an annual press conference in Ahaus, Rolf Heiber, Managing Director of the Employment Agency Coesfeld, reported on the current labor market situation in the Borken and Coesfeld districts. The latest data show that unemployment has increased in the district, while the number of employees subject to social security has reached a record level. In 2024, around 235,000 employees subject to social security contributions were recorded in the two circles, which is not a significant change compared to the previous year. Particularly noteworthy is the increase in women and foreign employees, but a lack of young people from the age group under the age of 25 and the middle age groups is observed.

The figures show in detail that the number of employees subject to social security contributions is 158,957 in the district of Borken, which corresponds to a decrease of 0.3 percent. In contrast, the Coesfeld district has an increase of 0.7 percent to 76,024 employees subject to social security contributions. The unemployment rate in the entire agency district rose to 4.4 percent compared to 4.0 percent in the previous year. Around 15,400 people are currently registered as unemployed, which corresponds to an increase of 12.8 percent since the previous year. In the district of Borken, 10,392 unemployed are registered, which corresponds to an increase of 11.2 percent, while in the Coesfeld district, the number of unemployed has risen to 5,053 (plus 16.1 percent).

Different developments in the circles

The labor market situation in Borken and Coesfeld shows different dynamics. The number of open positions was around 8,000 in 2024, which corresponds to a decline of 8.3 percent compared to 2023. An important point is the high proportion of the unemployed, which is located at a helper level - about 44 percent. At the same time, 62 percent of the reported bodies are looking for specialists, which indicates a gap between supply and demand in the labor market.

hurdles and challenges

Despite the positive approaches, there are challenges in the integration of refugees in the labor market. Rolf Heiber emphasizes the bureaucratic hurdles and the necessary language courses that make it difficult to attend Ukrainians. He therefore appeals to a faster procedure in integration funding and improved language support in order to meet the needs of the labor market and to give refugees the opportunity to build a new life.

An outlook on 2025 shows that there are still jobs despite the existing challenges. Improvement and adjustments to the training and integration system could be essential steps to stabilize and optimize the labor market situation in the region.