German unemployment falls to lowest since 1992
Unemployment in Germany fell to its lowest level for over 18 years in September as businesses continued to hire despite the downturn in the recovery.
According to statistics released Thursday by the Federal Labour Office, the number of job seekers decreased by 40,000 from the previous month to $ 3.146 million, down two times higher than that expected by economists polled by Reuters.
It is the fifteenth consecutive decline in the number of unemployed, whose share in the workforce fell to 7.5% against 7.6% in August, the lowest since April 1992, according to statistics from the Bundesbank.
"The conditions on the labor market will continue to improve in the coming months.Statistic of GDP in the second quarter showed that exports but also domestic demand to recover strongly now, "said Timo Klein, economist at IHS Global Insight.
"The figures are down a part-time and temporary work has already returned more or less levels of the mid-2008 levels before the crisis," he adds.
PAY INCREASE IN THE STEEL INDUSTRY
The government has taken steps to encourage companies to resort to layoffs rather than part time during the crisis, which helped limit the rise in unemployment.
This practice, called "Kurzarbeit", but tend to decline, says Labour Office.In July, some 288,000 employees received incentives for part-time, or 111,000 less than the previous month.
The decline in unemployment appears to boost the morale of households.It should reach its highest October level since May 2008, on Tuesday showed the monthly survey of the GfK research institute.
Boosted by exports, Germany has taken out quickly last year to its worst recession in the postwar period, but the bleak outlook of some of its trading partners should result in slower growth compared to the increase of 2.2% recorded in the second quarter.
Economists now expect an average growth of 3.0% for all of 2010.
Several ministers said the number of unemployed is expected to fall below three million this year, and employment is expected to reach its highest level since reunification in 1990.
In the morning, the Employers' Federation of Steel and the union IG Metall announced an agreement on a salary increase of 3.6% from October, which will benefit 85,000 employees in the sector.
