2019.01.0408:36:00UTC+00German Unemployment At Record Low In December

Germany's unemployment decreased more-than-expected expected in December, and the jobless rate held steady at a record low, despite the economy showing signs of a slowdown.

The number of unemployed dropped by 14,000, data from the Federal Employment Agency showed on Friday. That was a bigger fall than the 13,000 decrease economists had predicted. Joblessness had decreased by 16,000 in November.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 5 percent, unchanged from November. In October, the rate was 5.1 percent.

Earlier in the day, figures from the Federal Statistical Office showed that there were a seasonally adjusted 1.44 million unemployed in November, which was about 9,200 persons less than a month earlier. The ILO jobless rate was steady at 3.3 percent in November.

The statistical office reported earlier this week that German employment grew by 562,000 persons in 2018 to an annual average of 44.8 million, which is the highest since the reunification in 1991.

Employment thus increased for 13 years in a row.

Unemployment continued to decline in 2018, down by 130,000 persons or 8 percent to 1.49 million on an annual average. The ILO jobless rate eased to 3.2 percent from 3.5 percent.