Rise of German economy puts unemployment at four-year low

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2006

FRANKFURT (AFP) — Recovery of the German economy -- the biggest in the 12-country eurozone -- is feeding into jobs and unemployment has fallen below four million for the first time for four years. The Federal Labour Agency in Nuremberg calculated that the German jobless total fell by 89,400 to 3.995 million in November in raw or unadjusted terms, bringing the jobless rate down to 9.6 percent from 9.8 percent a month earlier.

It was the first time since October 2002 that the jobless total has been lower than four million. And both the jobless total and the jobless rate were similarly at their lowest levels since October 2002. Labour office chief Frank-Juergen Weise attributed the favourable development not only to the ongoing economic upturn, but also to the mild weather....