SA Unemployment: +19k (pan-German), +19k (West), flat (East)
— corrects fourth paragraph to show unadjusted jobless level at 20-year
low, not 20-month low as initially reported
—
FRANKFURT (MNI) – The ranks of the unemployed in Germany
unexpectedly rose in April, while the number of payroll jobs contracted
modestly, the Federal Labour Office reported on Wednesday.
The number of jobseekers rose by 19,000, more than reversing
March’s decline, bringing the total number of unemployed to 2.875
million. Even the most pessimistic analyst polled by MNI had projected
a rise of only 10,000 persons.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was unchanged at 6.8% after
March’s figure was revised up 0.1 percentage point.
Without taking into account seasonal trends, the jobless rate fell
0.2 percentage point to 7.0%, reflecting a 20-year low of 2.963 million
persons looking for work in April compared to 3.028 million in March.
Job vacancies fell by 1,000 in April after no change in March.
Payroll jobs, for data for which lag by one month maintained its upward
trend, rising by 29,000 after +43,000 in February.
The April PMI polls show a slight reduction in private sector
employment for the first time since early 2010, as both manufacturers
and service providers adjusted to lower workloads.
As weakening demand from southern Europe offsets robust sales to
Asia and the U.S., further reductions in staff are possible, which could
well create a drag on Germany’s consumption-fueled recovery.
Still, recent surveys suggest the German labour market should
generally continue to develop positively and remain the envy of a number
of Eurozone partners.
Manufacturers and service providers polled by the Ifo institute in
April indicated that they still planned to expand staff, albeit more
cautiously than in March.
While hiring expectations in retail and construction eroded last
month, they remained above average, according to a European Commission
survey,
The Labour Office’s IAB research arm foresees unemployment to
decline to 2.84 million on average this year. With immigration and
increased labour force participation expected to boost the labour force
by 40,000 persons, the institute sees average employment reaching a
post-unification high of 41.55 million.
— Frankfurt bureau: +49 69 720 142, email: frankfurt@marketnews.com —
[TOPICS: M$G$$$,MAGDS$,M$X$$$,M$XDS$,MT$$$$]