German unemployment pushes higher

The number of people out of work in Germany unexpectedly pushed higher in October, official data showed on Thursday.

According to Federal Labour Office, jobless claims jumped by 30,000 to 2.678m following a revised 10,000 increase in September and well above the consensus for a 15,000 rise.

The seasonally-adjusted national unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point to 5.8%, in line with expectations. The rate is the highest since June 2021.

Job openings, meanwhile, fell in October to 749,000, a 98,000 decline year-on-year.

Claus Vistesen, chief Eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "The weakness in Germany’s labour market intensified at the start of the fourth quarter, consisting with falling GDP in the third quarter and weakening surveys.

"The national unemployment rate has climbed by 0.3ppt since February and at this rate, further increases are likely."