More than 4 million people in Germany were either looking for employment or wanted to work more in 2019, according to a study published on Friday.

This was a 5% decrease in the so-called unused work potential from 2018, a trend that has continued almost every year over the past decade. It's not yet clear whether the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, which has seen widespread job losses, will buck this trend.

Read more: Why Germany's reduced hours scheme won't work long term

The figures, published by Germany's Federal Statistics Office, showed that 1.4 million people between the ages of 15 and 74 were actively looking for work. A further 2.1 million would have liked to work more hours every week, while a further 900,000 make up the "silent reserve" of workers who — for a variety of reasons — are looking for work but not for the immediate future.

The statistics also showed there were around 1.5 million people in Germany who would like to be working less. This number grew by 47,000 from 2018 to 2019.

The figures did not include the number of people who do not work and are not looking for work; there were around 1.2 million people who fell into this category in Germany in 2019.

The German government's "short-time work" scheme, which saw people retain their jobs but cut down the number of working hours in light of the pandemic, may have reduced job losses in 2020. But many companies have gone out of business, suggesting that 2020 could see a sharp increase in the number of those looking for work.

ed/sms (AFP, dpa)