German unemployment hits 8.5 percent

[LahoreEstate]

FRANKFURT: The German unemployment rate rose in February and analysts expect it to go much higher this year as Europe’s biggest economy is slammed by the global economic downturn. The unemployment rate increased to 8.5 percent from 8.3 percent in January, figures released on Thursday by the national labour office showed. The number of unemployed workers reached 3.552 million in February, a one-month gain of 63,000, the office said, adding that part-time contracts had prevented a bigger increase. A hard winter that has curbed construction activity played a major role in the rise. But a slump in crucial German exports and weaker business investment indicate that unemployment will increase further in the coming months, analysts said. After resisting the effects of the global economic downturn, the German labour market has deteriorated quickly. In November the number of unemployed dipped briefly below the level of three million. And without the widespread use of part-time working hours by German companies the overall deterioration would have been much worse. “Part-time work limited the increase,” the labour office noted. Seasonally corrected figures put the increase in unemployed workers at 40,000 in February, following an increase of 56,000 a month earlier. Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires had expected an even larger increase of 60,000. afp

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