The Ministry said unemployed people over 58 years of age were not included in the headline figure, which last month was 3.617 million people. The revelation came in response to a request from an opposition member of parliament.
A spokeswoman for the Labour Ministry defended its statistical methods, saying “this is nothing new, and there are mechanisms of this kind in all countries.”
An upswing in the German growth and government reforms have led to a fall in unemployment in Europe’s largest economy, which stood at over five million in early 2006.
