The number of people out of work in Germany increased by 10,000 to 2.642 million in September, according to seasonally adjusted data. This was announced today in a preliminary report by the Federal Employment Office, which said the unemployment rate remained at 5.7 percent.
Not meeting expectations
Commenting on the bureau’s report, Reuters said the number of people out of work rose less than expected in September. Analysts had expected an increase of 15,000 unemployed.
If seasonal fluctuations were not taken into account, then unemployment in September fell by 69,000 to 2.627 million, 141,000 more unemployed than in September last year. Under this methodology, the unemployment rate fell 0.1 point to 5.7 percent.
Uneven readings
“The fall recovery is more limited this year. Unemployment and underemployment did fall, but less than usual in September. But the German labor market is still basically stable,” Terzenbach said at a press conference in Nuremberg today.
According to the latest data, the Labour Office has registered 50,000 applications for kurzarbeit, i.e. a job protection scheme, from 1 to 25 September. However, these figures are preliminary, as the office has a record of the actual use of the kurzarbeit until the end of July when 124,000 employees received money under the protective scheme. Thus, the number of cases of kurzarbeit use in July was down from June, when 158,000 workers used the measure, according to updated data.
Source Czech Press Office
