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German Unemployment Extends Drop as Economic Growth Picks Up

  • Unemployment fell by 17,000 versus estimated 5,000 decline
  • Jobless rate remained at record low of 6 percent in December
Visitors look at employment opportunities displayed on a job board in Berlin.

Visitors look at employment opportunities displayed on a job board in Berlin.

Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
Updated on

German unemployment extended its decline in December amid signs that growth in Europe’s largest economy accelerated at the end of last year.

The number of people out of work fell by a seasonally adjusted 17,000 to 2.638 million, data from the Federal Labor Agency in Nuremberg showed on Tuesday. Economists in a Bloomberg survey forecast a drop of 5,000. The jobless rate remained unchanged at 6 percent, matching the lowest level since reunification.