Jobs
German Joblessness Unexpectedly Declines at Start of Year
- Unemployment rate is unchanged for fourth consecutive month
- Number of jobless fell by 2,000 in January; est. 11,000 rise
Workers at a construction site in Salzgitter, Germany.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
German unemployment unexpectedly decreased in January, pointing to resilience in the labor market even after the economy contracted in the fourth quarter.
Joblessness fell by 2,000 in the first month of 2024, compared with an expected gain of 11,000 in a Bloomberg survey. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.8% for the fourth consecutive month, the Federal Labor Agency said in a statement on Wednesday.