Unemployment rate remains higher in former East Unemployment Germany than in former West, but gap has narrowed Average annual unemployment rate as a share of civilian labor force
Unemployment is persistently higher in the former East Germany than in the former West. In 2018, the average unemployment rate was 6.9% in the six states of the former East Germany, compared with 4.8% in the 10 states of the former West Germany. (In all economic statistics in this analysis, Berlin is counted in East Germany, even though the city was divided during communism and is not directly comparable to other parts of East Germany.)
Despite these differences, the former East has narrowed the gap with the former West substantially in recent decades. In the early 2000s, the unemployment rate was about 10 percentage points higher in the former East than in the former West – nearly five times the gap in 2018.
Unemployment rate remains higher in former East  | Unemployment Germany than in former West, but gap has narrowed  | Average annual unemployment rate as a share of civilian labor force  | 18.  | East Germany  | 14.8  | 8. 5  | 8.  | West Germany  | 1994  | 1997 2000 2002 2005 2008 2011 2015 2018  | Note: West and East Germany refer to the states comprising the pre. 1990 Federal  | Republic of Germany and former German Democratic comprising Republic, res pectively. Berlin  | included in East Germany.  | Source: Bund esministerium fir Wirtschaft und Energie, Jahresbericht der  | Bundesregierung zum Stand der Deutschen Einheit.  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 