German Unemployment Up More Than Expected as Labor Market Cools
(Bloomberg) -- German unemployment rose more than anticipated — signaling that another economic rough patch is having an increasing impact on the labor market.
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Joblessness rose by 17,000 in September, while economists polled by Bloomberg had predicted an increase of 13,500. The unemployment rate held at 6%.
“The fall revival in the labor market is proceeding only sluggishly,” Andrea Nahles, head of the Federal Labor Agency, said Friday.
German companies have been reluctant to cut staff, despite softer demand at home and in crucial export markets. That’s partly because of widespread shortages of skilled staff that would make it harder to hire workers in an economic upswing.
Still, there are growing signs the labor market is cooling. Employment has been growing at a slower rate while the number of vacancies fell by about 15% in the second quarter from the previous three months. Business surveys by S&P Global and the Ifo institute this week also showed an increased willingness among firms to reduce staff numbers.
--With assistance from Kristian Siedenburg and Joel Rinneby.
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