Berlin - German unemployment fell for the second consecutive month in September, the nation's labour office said Wednesday. The numbers out of work in Europe's biggest economy dropped by 12,000 to 3.46 million this month, the Nuremberg-based labour office said. Analysts had predicted a rise of 20,000.
The numbers out of work in seasonally unadjusted terms dropped by 125,000 to 3.346 million in September resulting in the jobless rate sliding from 8.3 per cent in August to 8 per cent this month.
The release of the latest unemployment data comes as Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats prepare for talks with the pro-business Free Democrats to forge a new German Government after Sunday's national election.
However, labour office chief Frank-Juergen Weise warned that the latest data did not represent a turning point in the nation's job market.
"The effects of the economic crisis on the labour market remains noticeable," he said.
The drop in seasonally adjusted unemployment in September followed a surprise 1,000-fall in in August.
Until now, government-subsidized short-term work contracts have helped German employers avoid large-scale layoffs as a result of what has been the nation's steepest economic slowdown in a generation.
The September fall is a further sign that the German labour market has so far managed to withstand the fallout from the global economic contraction.
