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German employment increases in Q1: Destatis

Xinhua, May 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

The number of people in employment in Germany increased slightly in the first quarter of 2015, official data showed on Tuesday, suggesting the stability of the labor market of Europe's biggest economy.

In the first quarter, the number of employed persons in Germany increased by 0.7 percent from the same period of previous year and reached 42.2 million, said German federal statistical office Destatis.

In a quarter-on-quarter comparison, the number of employed persons also rose slightly by 21,000 during January and March after adjusted for the usual seasonal fluctuations.

According to Destatis, the rise of employment was mainly due to a growth in the service sector where business service recorded the largest yearly employment increase of 2 percent.

Germany has one of the most stable labor markets in Europe. In March, its jobless rate measured with concept of International Labor Organization (ILO) stood at 4.7 percent, the lowest in the euro zone where the average jobless rate was 11.3 percent.

The stable market, along with increasing wages, low interest rate and falling energy prices, boosted domestic demand in Germany and contributed to an economic growth.

In the first quarter of 2015, the German economy expanded by 0.3 percent. Domestic demand was the main driving force. Endit