The Social Democratic politician Gustav Bauer became the first Minister for Labour under Chancellor Philipp Scheidemann, whom he succeeded on 21 June that year.

On the day of the Machtergreifung in January 1933, the German National politician and Der Stahlhelm leader Franz Seldte was appointed Minister for Labour in the Cabinet Hitler, a position he officially held until 1945, though the day-to-day affairs of the Ministry were managed largely by the State Secretaries Johannes Krohn (1933–1939) and Friedrich Syrup (1939–1945).

The West German Ministry for Labour was re-established in Bonn on 20 September 1949 with the Cabinet Adenauer I.

According to the 1991 Berlin/Bonn Act it moved to its present seat in Berlin-Mitte in 2000, on premises formerly used by Goebbels' Propaganda Ministry and the East German National Front organisation.

Responsibilities were re-allocated once again when a new government was formed under Chancellor Angela Merkel following the Bundestag elections of 2005.