Germany vs United States: Labour force
Labour force over time
- Germany
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 170,807 against 38,383 in Germany, a difference of 132,424.
That makes United States's figure about 4.5 times Germany's.
Across all 14 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
Germany ranks 4th and United States ranks 1st of 57 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 39,850 | 154,142 | 114,292 | United States |
| 2010s | 40,273 | 157,604 | 117,332 | United States |
| 2020s | 38,530 | 162,078 | 123,548 | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher labour force, Germany or United States?
- United States, at 170,807 against 38,383 in Germany as of 2025.
- What is the difference in labour force between Germany and United States?
- 132,424, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and United States?
- 14 years are reported by both, from 2009 to 2022.
- How do Germany and United States rank globally for labour force?
- Germany ranks 4th and United States ranks 1st of 57 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Labour Organization, published as Labour force (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. The labour force is the sum of all persons of working age who are employed and those who are unemployed. The term disability, as defined in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), is used as an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. For measurement purposes, a person with disability is defined as a person who is limited in the kind or amount of activities that he or she can do because of ongoing difficulties due to a long-term physical condition, mental condition or health problem. For more information, refer to the Disability Labour Market Indicators (DLMI) database description.