The number of unemployed people in Germany fell much more than expected in October to beat all forecasts as an upturn continued to stimulate hiring in Europe's biggest economy.
The Federal Labour Office said this morning that unemployment fell a seasonally adjusted 67,000 in October from September - the sharpest decline since July and more than the consensus forecast for a fall of 20,000 in a Reuters poll of economists.
No economist had forecast a decline bigger than 40,000. The unadjusted jobless total fell by nearly 153,000 during the month to 4.085 million.
The unemployment rate in October was 10.4 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis and 9.8 per cent on an unadjusted basis, falling below the psychologically important 10 per cent barrier for the first time since November 2002.
A seasonal upturn in hiring was helped by the strengthening economic recovery in Germany, the labour office said, adding that all-important jobs paying full social security contributions had been created.
Recent reports on the economy have generally been positive.
Last week, the Ifo research institute's closely watched gauge of German business sentiment rose in October for the first time in four months, and the GFK market research group said consumer morale was set to rise in November.