BERLIN, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Employment in Germany's automotive sector has hit a 14-year low, as a prolonged economic downturn weighs heavily on the country's manufacturing base and drives a sharp contraction in industrial employment.

Jobs in the auto industry were 48,700 fewer than a year earlier to the end of the third quarter, a decline of 6.3 percent, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). This represented the steepest drop among major industrial branches with more than 200,000 workers.

As Germany's second-largest industrial sector after mechanical engineering, the automotive industry now employs 721,400 people, barely above its lowest reading since 2011, Destatis said.

The slump is far more severe among suppliers than among carmakers. Vehicle and engine manufacturers, which account for about 60 percent of the sector's workforce, reported a 3.8-percent year-on-year drop in employment. Meanwhile, headcount at car parts suppliers plunged 11.1 percent.

Destatis said this weakness is visible across the wider manufacturing sector. The industrial workforce in Europe's largest economy stood at 5.43 million at the end of the third quarter, down by 120,300 jobs, or 2.2 percent, from a year earlier. Significant cuts were also recorded in metal production and processing, and in the manufacturing of electronic and optical equipment.

Faced with higher costs, stagnant demand, and a shortage of skilled workers, many companies have increasingly shifted operations abroad. Separate Destatis data released on Wednesday showed that between 2021 and 2023, around 1,300 German companies with at least 50 employees relocated some or all business functions overseas, resulting in a net loss of 50,800 jobs.

Most companies cited lower labor costs abroad as the main reason for relocating, while other cost advantages and better availability of skilled workers also played a role, according to Destatis.