Stralsund is struggling with the highest unemployment rate in Western Pomerania-Rügen!

Stralsund is struggling with the highest unemployment rate in Western Pomerania-Rügen!

In Western Pomerania-Rügen there is a mixed picture on the labor market. In October 2023, 9,417 people were unemployed in the region. It is worth mentioning that the number was reduced by 110 compared to September. This means that the unemployment rate falls slightly to 8.4 percent, which is a positive development, even if there are only 55 fewer unemployed people compared to October 2022. Thorsten Nappe, head of the Stralsund Employment Agency, sees these declines as a hopeful sign for the region, even if long-term unemployment remains a challenge - 45.6 percent of the unemployed have been without a job for more than a year.

Stralsund in particular remains marked by the difficulty of keeping the labor market stable. Here the rate remains high at 11.8 percent, despite a decrease of 127 to 3,385 unemployed in October. Grimmen and Rügen, on the other hand, show a different development: Unemployment in Grimmen fell by 23 to 1,460 people, which corresponds to a rate of 9.0 percent. On Rügen, however, the number of unemployed rose by 21 to 2,235, but remains the lowest figure in the agency district at 6.8 percent.

Industries and challenges

Over the course of the year, employment figures in the hotel and catering industry as well as in retail remained stable. Interestingly, the first layoffs from the tourism sector have been recorded, which is increasing the uncertainties in the market. While employment figures in production, logistics and services are declining, things are not looking rosy for the coming months. Experts expect unemployment to rise from November. A peak could be reached in January or February, mainly due to seasonal fluctuations in the labor market.

But there is hope: companies have the opportunity to take countermeasures with training measures. The support from the employer service is another advantage that companies can rely on. This is particularly important since unemployment is increasing in many other regions of Germany due to economic problems and rising prices, as arbeitsagentur.de notes. Vorpommern-Rügen remains largely spared from these phenomena and appears to be maintaining a stable development so far.

Overall, the current situation makes it clear that there is a lot of work ahead of us in the region. Solutions must be worked out at both the political and economic levels in order to further reduce unemployment and improve the quality of life of citizens. The need for the ability to act is becoming increasingly clear in order to give the people of Western Pomerania-Rügen hope for a better future.