German unemployment falls to 28-year-low in February

BERLIN, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The number of unemployed Germans in February has fallen to its lowest monthly level since the beginning of recordings in 1990, official figures published on Wednesday by the Federal Labor Office (BA) show.

The Nuremberg-based government agency put the number of jobseekers at 2.546 million, marking a monthly decrease of 24,000 compared to January and a decline by 216,000 compared to the same period last year. As a consequence, the official unemployment rate in February fell by 0.1 percentage points to 5.7 percent.

Speaking to press on Wednesday, BA director Detlef Scheele said that the findings underlined the healthy state of the German labor market and wider economy which still showed no sign of deteriorating.

"I do not expect a reversal of the trend or weakening thereof," a statement by Scheele read. The BA director substantiated this claim by drawing attention to strong simultaneous growth in Germany's employment rate.

Some 44.28 million Germans were employed in January, according to the Federal Statistical Office, an increase of 625,000 compared to the same period last year.

Scheele gave an optimistic forecast that the total number of jobseekers could decline further to 2.1 million in the course of 2018. Such an outcome was "achievable" if economic momentum was sustained through the Spring and Fall.

Katarina Barley (SPD), the acting labor minister, was similarly upbeat about the latest unemployment data. "The German labor market is in a positive dynamic and offers many opportunities," Barley said.

The SPD politician highlighted the need to make use of the currently favorable labor market conditions to ensure that young Germans benefited from its dual education system as a "foundation for a successful career."

Wednesday's figures offered a slightly less rosy picture when individuals who are in jobs training or unable to work due to health issues were also included in the category of unemployed inhabitants.

Within these wider parameters, the number of jobseekers in February rose by an annual 970,000 to 3.514 million. However, the figure still marked a monthly decline of 32,000. At the same time, the number of unemployed asylum seekers appears to have stabilized at around 180,000 after an initially steep upward trajectory since 2015. Enditem