German Unemployment Declines Unexpectedly

(RTTNews) - Germany's unemployment declined unexpectedly in June and the jobless rate remained unchanged, official data revealed Tuesday.

The number of people out of work decreased 1,000 in June after falling 12,000 in May, the Federal Employment Agency reported. Economists had forecast an increase of 7,000. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.3 percent in June, in line with expectations.

In an unadjusted terms, a total of 2.94 million were unemployed in June, down 15,000 from May, data showed.

Further, data showed that labor demand stabilized at a low level in June. About 648,000 job vacancies were registered, up by 16,000 from a year ago. Unemployment is only falling slightly, and employment subject to social security contributions is continuing its slight downward trend, Federal Employment Agency head Andrea Nahles said.

Based on the labor force survey, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at adjusted 3.8 percent in May, Destatis said. The number of unemployed decreased 11,000 from April to 1.66 million in May.

The June drop in unemployment is a welcome positive surprise, ING economist Carsten Brzeski said. But the economist said it looks as if the recent downward trend has been paused, rather than ended or reversed.