Germany’s unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level in 24 years, new labor market data has shown. Only 6 percent of the potential workforce did not have a job, a low not seen since 1991.
There were 2.633 million unemployed people in Germany in November, the Federal Labor Office (BA) reported Tuesday.
That’s 16,000 fewer jobseekers compared to the previous month and 84,000 less than a year ago. Those figures are nominal, meaning they do not account for seasonal fluctuations.
“The labor market remains in good shape and is continuing to develop favorably,” the BA said.
The German economy expanded by 0.3 percent in the third quarter. Wages in Europe’s largest economy are also on the rise.
In seasonally adjusted terms, Germany’s unemployment rate fell to 6.3 percent in November, its lowest level since reunification in 1990. In October, the rate was at 6.4 percent.
Accounting for the autumnal jump in employment, the labor office counted 13,000 fewer jobseekers than in October, for a total of 2.772 million.
It was a bigger drop than expected. In polls, economists had said they expected a drop of around 5,000.
cjc/uhe (Reuters, dpa, AFP)
