German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's re-election hopes suffered a fresh blow today as headline unemployment vaulted the politically-sensitive four million mark just six weeks ahead of polling day.
The Federal Labour Office said unadjusted unemployment rose to 4.047 million from 3.954 million in June, adding that German economic growth was too weak to help the labour market recover.
In July 1998, shortly before Germany's last general election when Schroeder ousted conservative Chancellor Helmut Kohl, headline unemployment stood at 4.135 million.
The unadjusted jobless rate rose to 9.7 per cent from 9.5 per cent.
Mr Schroeder said in 1998 that his government would not deserve to be re-elected if it did not significantly cut dole queues, a soundbite that has now come back to haunt him ahead of the September 22nd general election.
His Social Democrats are trailing in opinion polls the opposition conservatives who have made the economy the main battleground of their campaign.
The Labour Office data showed seasonally-adjusted unemployment rose 8,000 in July, less than expected by analysts who on average had forecast a 30,100 increase according to a Reuters poll.
The data also showed that while unemployment was rising in west Germany, increasing 18,000 in the month, it fell 10,000 in the economically-depressed east, good news in a region that contains many floating voters.