China Returned as Germany's Largest Trading Partner
The 2025 ranking reflects imports and exports together, while the shrinking trade surplus shows pressure beyond one partner.
German growth, trade, inflation, employment and business conditions, with monthly releases placed in their proper statistical context.
The 2025 ranking reflects imports and exports together, while the shrinking trade surplus shows pressure beyond one partner.
The ifo index rose to 89.8 from 89.1, with regional conditions still requiring industry and state context.
Exports rose 2.0% quarter on quarter, including a 2.6% increase in goods, according to Destatis.
Current assessments and expectations both improved, providing a brighter survey reading before hard activity data confirms it.
Companies became less pessimistic; the index remains an assessment of conditions and expectations rather than measured output.
The city had 571,510 principal-residence inhabitants at the end of 2025, while semiconductor expansion raises demand for engineers, technicians and construction skills.
The seasonally adjusted decline extended second-quarter weakness, with industry still cutting jobs.
Population growth supports one of Germany's largest urban labour markets, while the city is less dependent on a single corporate sector than many peers.
A larger labour pool supports the capital's service and technology economy, while housing, transport and administration determine how much of that growth becomes productive capacity.
Official population reached 615,932 at the end of 2025, while manufacturing turnover exceeded €10 billion across the year.
The city keeps attracting skilled workers, but housing cost increasingly acts like an additional payroll tax on employers.
Trade, fiscal policy and consumer demand sit behind the projection and can move before later national accounts arrive.
The economy expanded slightly after two weak years, while exports and industrial investment remained under pressure.
National job totals and occupation-specific scarcity measure different parts of a labour market under demographic pressure.
Exports strengthened early in 2026, but destination, product mix and imports decide the contribution to growth.
A 0.3% quarterly expansion improved the starting point, while exports, investment and revisions determine its durability.