German jobless rate remains at record low

The German jobless rate in October remained at its lowest level since the country's reunification 25 years ago, injecting impetus into the country's private consumption that supported an upward trend of economic growth, official data showed on Thursday.

In seasonally-adjusted terms, the number of people registered as unemployed in Germany fell by 5,000 to 2.788 million, German Federal Labor Agency said.

The fall was more than economists' expected decline of 4,000.

The jobless rate, which measures the number of unemployed people against the population willing to work, was unchanged at 6.4 percent, its lowest level since 1990.

"The favorable development in the labor market continues," said Frank-Juergen Weise, head of the German labor agency.

"The strong growth in employment is uninterrupted. The demand for labor has risen again," he said.

A stable labor market, together with increasing wages, falling energy prices and low interest rates, bolstered private consumption in Germany, which saw an economic growth of 0.4 percent in the second quarter and 0.3 percent in the first three months this year.

Earlier this week, German central bank Bundesbank said the upward momentum of the German economy would continue in the third quarter, also pointing to private consumption boosted by favorable conditions.

A separate report from German federal statistical office Destatis on Thursday showed that Germany's jobless rate, as measured by the concept of the International Labour Organization, was 4.5 percent in September, the same as in August when the jobless rate of the whole eurozone stood at 11 percent. Endit