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German unemployment falls for fifth consecutive month

Xinhua, March 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

German unemployment fell for the fifth consecutive month in February, holding the country's jobless rate at a record low, official data showed on Tuesday.

Adjusted for calendar and seasonal swings, the number of unemployed people decreased by 10,000 to 2.723 million, German Federal Labour Agency said.

It was the fifth month in a row that saw a decline of unemployment. The jobless rate remained unchanged at 6.2 percent, the lowest level since Germany's reunification.

"The labor market has further developed positively in the context of moderate economic growth," said Frank-Juergen Weise, head of the labor agency.

The German economy expanded by 1.7 percent in 2015, boosted mainly by private consumption which was fueled by stable labour market, growing wages, falling energy prices and low interest rates.

Retail sales in Germany increased by 0.7 percent month-on-month in January, suggesting that consumption of households would continue drive economic growth this year, compensating loss of exports, the country's traditional growth engine.

Measured by the standard of the International Labour Organization (ILO), German jobless rate declined to 4.3 percent in January, a separate report from federal statistics office Destatis on Tuesday showed.

It was the lowest record in the euro area where the average unemployment rate stood at 10.3 percent. Enditem