German unemployment rises at slower-than-expected rate in December

Unemployment rose at a slower-than-anticipated rate in Germany during December, according to the Federal Employment Agency, while the annual unemployment rate was one of the lowest since German reunification.

Data showed the number of people out of work increased by 5,000 in seasonally adjusted terms to 2.7m, better than the 20,000 increase expected by economists. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate grew slightly to 5.9%.

"The labour market is still holding up well in terms of the extent of the burdens and uncertainties," said FEA chairwoman Andrea Nahles. "Looking back at 2023, we can see that the weak economy has not left the labour market unscathed."

For the year as a whole, the number of unemployed people in Germany increased by 191,000 to 2.6m. The report also showed that in 2023, there were on average 761,000 job openings, 84,000 fewer than a year earlier.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com