• German Retail Sales Grew 2.4% in 2025 as Employment Remained Stable in November
WIESBADEN, Germany – Retail sales in Germany rose by a real 2.4% in 2025 compared to the previous year, while the number of employed persons remained nearly unchanged in November, according to preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
What is new?
The Federal Statistical Office released estimates showing that German retail trade generated 2.4% more sales in real (price-adjusted) terms and 3.6% more in nominal (not price-adjusted) terms for the full year 2025 compared to 2024. In a separate release, the office reported that approximately 46.0 million people residing in Germany were employed in November 2025, a figure that was seasonally adjusted to be almost unchanged from the prior month.
Retail Sales in Detail
The annual growth in retail sales was more pronounced in the first half of 2025, which saw a real increase of 3.8% compared to the same period in 2024. This growth moderated in the second half of the year to 1.1%. The increase in the first half of 2025 was partly attributed to a special effect from the restructuring of a large e-commerce company in August 2024, which resulted in the inclusion of previously unrecorded sales turnover in Germany.
For November 2025, preliminary data shows a month-on-month decline in real retail sales of 0.6% after seasonal and calendar adjustments. Compared to November 2024, sales were up 1.1% in real terms. Revised figures for October 2025 indicated a 0.3% real increase compared to the previous month and a 1.6% real increase compared to the same month last year.
Employment Figures
In November 2025, the number of employed persons in Germany was approximately 46.0 million. According to preliminary calculations, the seasonally adjusted figure remained almost unchanged from October, with a slight decrease of 1,000 persons. This follows a period of decline from May to September 2025, which saw an average monthly decrease of 14,000 employed persons, and a slight increase of 3,000 in October. Compared with November 2024, the number of employed persons decreased by 0.1%.
About this company
The Federal Statistical Office of Germany, known as Destatis, is the country’s primary provider of official statistics. Headquartered in Wiesbaden, it is responsible for collecting, processing, and publishing statistical information on Germany’s economy, society, and environment.
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