German Unemployment Rises In October
October 30 2019 - 04:40AM
RTTF2
German unemployment increased only marginally in October and the
jobless rate remained near a record low, despite sluggish economic
activity.
The number of people out of work increased by a seasonally
adjusted 6,000 after falling a revised 9,000 in September, data
from the Federal Employment Agency showed Wednesday. Economists had
forecast a monthly rise of 3,000.
The jobless rate held steady at 5 percent in October, in line
with expectations, and remained near a record low.
The current economic weakness is leaving its marks on the job
market, Federal Employment Agency head Detlef Scheele said. But all
in all, it remains robust, the official added.
The German labor market remains resilient to the economic
downturn, Eckart Tuchtfeld, a Commerzbank economist, said. However,
the prospects for the labor market are clouding, Tuchtfeld
noted.
The economist continues to expect that employment will tend to
increase, but progress will become more difficult.
In its monthly report, released early this month, Bundesbank
said the largest euro area economy might have entered a technical
recession in the third quarter. However, a deep recession is not
expected.
The International Monetary Fund forecast the German economy to
grow only 0.5 percent this year.
Data from Destatis, released earlier on Wednesday, revealed that
the adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.1 percent in
September.
According to results of the labor force survey, 1.32 million
people were unemployed in September, down by 106,000 people
compared with the same month a year earlier.
The unemployment data for the euro area is due on October 31.
The jobless rate in the single currency bloc is seen unchanged at
7.4 percent in September.
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