• Germany edition
Business & Money
Photo: DPA

German joblessness falls to five-month low

Published: 28 Feb 13 11:09 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/money/20130228-48253.html

The German labour market is continuing to defy the eurozone debt crisis, with the jobless total falling to its lowest level in five months in February, official data showed on Thursday.

On the face of it, headline unemployment rose this month, but that was primarily due to seasonal factors, monthly data compiled by the Federal Labour Office showed.

The raw or unadjusted jobless total rose by 18,013 to 3.156 million and the jobless rate - which measures the number of unemployed as a proportion of the working population as a whole - was steady at 7.4 percent.

Nevertheless, the seasonally-adjusted jobless total - which irons out seasonal fluctuations - fell by 3,000 to 2.917 million, its lowest level since September, the agency said.

Analysts had been expecting an increase of around 1,500. The seasonally-adjusted jobless was also unchanged at 6.9 percent.

"Following weak growth in the preceding quarters, the German economy contracted by 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012. But the chances have improved that the economy will recover again during the course of 2013," said labour agency chief Frank-Jürgen Weise.

"Positive signals are coming from stable orders and brightening economic expectations. The labour market remains in fundamentally good shape and is reacting robustly to the difficult economic environment," Weise said.

Analysts agreed. "The German labour market confirmed the recent signs of resilience in February," said Annalisa Piazza at Newedge Strategy.

At 6.9 percent, the jobless rate remains "very close to its record low since German unification in the early 1990s," she said.

"Recent business confidence indicators have started to signal a mild recovery in activity at the turn of the year and German companies have already started to revise their hiring plans with caution," the expert continued.

"All in all, German unemployment is benefitting from a relative resilient economy and the effects of the past few-year structural reforms that helped to create a flexible labour market," she concluded.

AFP/mb

What do you think? Leave your comment below.


Your comments about this article:

17:11 February 28, 2013 by Englishted
Welcome to today's are you really stupid enough to believe this article.
20:08 February 28, 2013 by Sperfeld
Comment removed by The Local for breach of our terms.
11:04 March 2, 2013 by Roberto Gold
Comment removed by The Local for breach of our terms.
ADD YOUR COMMENT   (YOU MUST LOG IN OR REGISTER TO MAKE A COMMENT)
Business & Money headlines
Photo: DPA

IEA: protect consumers from energy price hikes

The International Energy Agency said Friday that Germany must shield its consumers from paying too much of the cost of its ambitious switch from nuclear power and fossil fuels toward renewable energy. READ () »

Photo: DPA

German consumers keep recession at bay

Buoyant consumer confidence and increased household spending is keeping Germany, Europe's biggest economy, from recession, despite sagging exports and falling investment, data showed on Friday. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Tax evasion 'OK for Joe Normal' say Germans

Although Germans express outrage when wealthy or famous people evade taxes, many of them do the same themselves, albeit on a smaller scale, a new survey shows. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Spain and Germany fight youth employment

Germany has agreed to provide vocational training and jobs for young Spaniards starved of opportunities in their crisis-hit home country. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Car boss asks Merkel to rethink CO2 pledge

The president of the German Automobile Association (VDA) has written to Angela Merkel, asking her to retract her pledge to significantly reduce CO2 car emissions by 2025, it was reported on Tuesday. READ () »

Photo: DPA

SAP to hire hundreds of autistic IT experts

German tech company SAP said on Tuesday it wants to hire hundreds of people with autism to work as software testers and programmers. The search has, it said, begun for people “who think differently from others.” READ () »

Photo: DPA

Economists warn against German euro exit

While a third of Germans would rather pay with the old Deutsche mark than the euro, economists warn that a German exit from the currency union would result in a disaster. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Germany cool to France's EU economy plan

Germany said Friday that French President Francois Hollande's proposal for a eurozone economic government was "interesting" but reacted coolly to his call for strengthened European budgetary powers. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Au pairs rules relax for non-German families

Foreign families will soon be able to officially engage au pairs from outside the European Union, as long as they speak German at home, as the government prepares to change the law. READ () »

Wolfgang Schäuble and his French counterpart Pierre Moscovici. Photo: DPA

Germany refuses to slam French economic policy

Germany will not publicly criticize France over economic policy, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble insisted on Thursday, amid differences between Berlin and Paris over growth versus austerity in battling the eurozone debt crisis. READ () »

More Business & Money

See all ads | Join the Marketplace

Jobs in Germany, in English

886 jobs available
663 new jobs this week
22 new jobs today

ALL JOBS »

Latest Business & Money news from Sweden
News from the Goethe-Institut
News from DeutschlandOnline

Toytown Germany
Germany's English-speaking crowd
Trade CFDs with InterTrader.com
Start trading shares, equities, forex, etc. No commission on equities; Low min. margins. Apply for a CFDs account now!
Little house in Spain
'Charming, old, beamed cottage for holiday let in Jesus Pobre, Alicante, Spain
www.littlehouseinspain.com/
Albatross Insurance
Professional and qualified consultancy on all insurance and finance matters in Germany, Telephone: +49 2163 571 1740, Email: bg@albatross-assurance.com
www.albatross-assurance.com
Hotel reservations in Berlin
Visiting Berlin anytime soon? Book your hotel in Berlin here.
Rental apartments in Berlin
For home-from-home holiday accommodation, search for a Berlin apartment to rent.