© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The sun sets behind the skyline during a summer evening in Frankfurt, Germany, August 13, 2023. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
By Maria Martinez
BERLIN (Reuters) – German unemployment rose more than expected in August, showing the first cracks in what had been until now a very resilient labour market.
The Federal Labour Office said on Thursday that the number of people out of work increased by 18,000 in seasonally adjusted terms to 2.63 million. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected that figure to rise by 10,000.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate remained stable at 5.7%.
“The summer break and economic weakness are leaving their mark on the labour market. Nevertheless, it is still in a solid basic condition”, labour office head Andrea Nahles said.
In August, there were 771,000 job openings, 116,000 fewer than a year ago. Although the Federal Labour Office has seen a slowdown in labour demand in the last year, it remains at a high level.