The labor market situation of recent years shows: High employment and low unemployment are possible with the right policies and in a flourishing economy.
Labor and Income

About the topic
The German labor market has been in a state of flux in recent years: Due to structural change and digitization, jobs have been lost in some sectors, for example in mining or industry, but at the same time many new jobs have been created in the digital world of work. However, despite recent successes, millions of people are still looking for a job, although skilled workers are becoming scarce as a result of demographic change. Going forward, therefore, the goal remains to increase labor force participation, promote occupational mobility, make it easier for people to get into jobs, and keep the shortage of skilled workers at bay for the economy.
Meanwhile, the demands on employees are changing rapidly. Digitalization and internationalization are shaping the labor economics. Aging and heterogeneous workforces pose difficult tasks for HR policy. Companies are well equipped if they succeed in balancing the different requirements.
Employees' earnings, i.e. wages and salaries, can be freely negotiated with their employers - in some cases, the leeway is limited by collective agreements. Wage policy also determines how many skilled workers employers can retain. Overall, wages have risen steadily over the past few years, which has led to an increase in prosperity.
German Economic Institute (IW)

More Productive with AI?: How Companies and Employees Assess its Effects on Productivity
Almost one third of all employees in Germany have had at least one new artificial intelligence (AI) application introduced at their workplace since 2022. AI is most commonly used for automatic data processing and text recognition.
IW

Proliferation of works councils and the desire for interest representation
Works councils exist in 7 per cent of the German establishments with five and more employees. The coverage rate has fallen significantly in the long run. Non-existence of works councils is, however, not equivalent to a lack of participation by the employees. ...
IW

Employment Dynamics in the Low-wage Sector
In 2021 around 13 per cent of the working-age population, or 19 per cent of those in dependent employment, were receiving a low wage, showing that this pay segment is continuing to decline.
IW

Employment shortly before and after retirement
As a result of demographic trends, around a quarter of all employees in the mechanical engineering sector are expected to retire in the next ten years. This corresponds to more than 296,000 people.
IW