India | UK | US

German unemployment down in October - Summary

Nuremberg, Germany - German unemployment fell for the third consecutive month in October, the Federal Labour Agency said Thursday, raising hopes that economic recovery could gather pace in the months ahead. The number out of work in Europe's biggest ...
Posted : Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:34:38 GMT
By : dpa
Category : Business
News Alerts by Email ( click here )
Business News | Home
Nuremberg, Germany - German unemployment fell for the third consecutive month in October, the Federal Labour Agency said Thursday, raising hopes that economic recovery could gather pace in the months ahead. The number out of work in Europe's biggest economy dropped by 118,000 to 3.22 million, the labour office said. Analysts had predicted a drop of between 40,000-60,000.

The jobless rate slid from 8 per cent to 7.7 per cent. A year ago, the unemployment rate was 7.2 per cent. In seasonally adjusted terms, the number of jobless was down 26,000 to 3.42 million.

Labour Agency chief Frank-Juergen Weise said the economic crisis had affected the job market, but the situation had eased in recent months.

The October decline is a further sign that the market has so far managed to withstand the fallout from the global economic contraction as Berlin continues to roll out a 85 billion-euro (124-billion- dollar) fiscal stimulus plan.

The new data was released a day after Chancellor Angela Merkel's new coalition of Christian Democrats and Free Democrats took office for a four-year term.

Labour Minister Franz Josef Jung called the figures "encouraging." He said the fallout from the economic crisis was not as bad as expected thanks to measures taken by the government.

"However, the figures do not represent a turning point," said Jung, who served as defence minister in the previous government.

The minister said developments on the labour market showed firms were doing their best to keep their workers at a time of economic crisis. It was important to keep this up, he added.

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.

With Germany having emerged from recession during the second quarter, economists are expecting a solid gain in economic growth in the coming months, which could further help to underpin the labour market in the run-up to the end of the year.

But economists also warn that unemployment could rise next year once the government starts to wind back its anti-crisis spending programme and labour-market support schemes.

This in turn could raise doubts about the prospects of the German economy mounting a sustained recovery with rising job fears and weak wages growth undercutting private consumption.

Copyright DPA

Share/Save/Bookmark

Article : German unemployment down in October - Summary
Print this article
Email this article

Stay Updated
News gadget on your Google homepage
Subscribe to a news feed in Google Reader


Related News

Thai shares climb 2.8 per cent on protest cancellation
Bangkok - Thai shares rose 2.86 per cent Wednesday as investors bid up prices following the announcement that potentially violent weekend protest rallies had been postponed, brokers said. The Stock Exchange of Thailand index ended at 695.58, up 19.3 ...

Turkey, media group fail to settle tax dispute
Istanbul - Talks between Turkish officials and Dogan Yayin, Turkey's largest media group, have failed to yield a settlement over a 4.8 billion lira (3.2 billion dollar) tax fine, the group announced Wednesday. There has been no settlement reached by...

Banks continue to hide huge losses, warns IMF head
Paris - Banks are continuing to hide huge losses from investors, imperiling the economic recovery, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was quoted Wednesday as saying. Large losses remain concealed - 50 per cent...

German consumers cautiously optimistic ahead of Christmas trading
Berlin - Consumers in Europe's largest economy maintained a stable outlook in the run up to the key Christmas trading period, economic survey institute GfK reported Wednesday. While fears of rising unemployment in 2010 dampened the overall consumer c...

Tokyo stocks up on bargain buys - Summary
Tokyo - Tokyo stocks inched up Wednesday after a day of choppy trading as investors snapped up bargains following the previous day's losses. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 40.06 points, or 0.43per cent, to close at 9,441.64, after slum...

Tokyo stocks mixed in morning trading
Tokyo - Tokyo stocks put in a mixed performance in Wednesday morning trading, with worries about the strong yen and government economic policy keeping the market relatively flat. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 3.60 points, or 0.04 per ...

Jordan, Turkey open final round of talks for free trade accord
Amman - Jordan and Turkey on Tuesday held the seventh and final round of negotiations for liberalizing trade between the two countries, a senior official said. A free trade agreement is now expected to be signed when Turkish Prime Minister Recept Tay...

Have your Say
Name
Email
Subject
Your Comment

Enter Verification code
 
  

 

 

More Business News click here
Follow The Earth Times
Subscribe to RSS Follow Earth Times on TwitterNews by email
Share/Save/Bookmark

 
 



 
Subscribe to free Earthtimes
News Alerts by Email Click here
For RSS Feeds Click here
or Create your own RSS

Add to Google Toolbar
Breaking News
Press Releases

 


The Earth Times
News Category

© 2009 www.earthtimes.org, The Earth Times, All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy
Earth Times accept no responsibility or liability either directly or indirectly for views or opinions expressed in articles or comments.