The total number of people looking for work in Germany increased again in February, but mainly as a result of seasonal factors.
Official data released today by the Federal Labour Office in Nuremberg said that, on an unadjusted basis, the number of people registered as unemployed in the whole of Germany stood at 4.113 million in February, equivalent to 10.1 per cent of the working population.
That compares with a jobless total of 4.093 million and a jobless rate of 10.0 percent in January. Germany is the biggest economy in the 12-country euro zone.
January was the first time since March 2000 that the unadjusted jobless total had been above four million.
Labour Office president Mr Bernhard Jagoda attributed the rise to seasonal factors, saying that "we must wait until the end of the winter season before we can better gauge the developments on the labour market".
But on a seasonally-adjusted basis, "the number of people out of work remained almost unchanged, as is usual in February", Mr Jagoda said.
The still favourable economic developments were continuing to have a positive effect, particularly in the west of Germany, even if the increase in employment was not as strong as in recent months, owing to the slower rate of economic growth.
Unemployment usually increases in the winter as the bad weather means that people are laid off, particularly in sectors where much of the work is carried out out-of-doors, such as the construction sector.
Taking into account seasonal factors, the increase in the number of people out of work in January was much smaller.
Seasonally-adjusted data, published separately by the Bundesbank, showed that the pan-German jobless total edged up to 3.779 million in February from 3.776 million in January and the jobless rate was unchanged at 9.3 per cent.
AFP