Unemployment in Germany falls to record low

Germany's labour market is going from strength to strength, according to figures from the Federal Employment Agency.

The number of unemployed Germans fell by 20,000 to 2.36 million in November, hitting the lowest level since the re-unifiction in 1990, Xinhua reported on Thursday citing the Agency figures.

As a consequence, the unemployment rate also declined by 0.1 point to 5.3 per cent. Year on year, 164,000 fewer people were registered as out of work than that in November 2016.

"The labour market's very good development continues," said Valerie Holsboer, member of the executive board of the Federal Employment Agency.

"Unemployment and underemployment are decreasing and companies' demand is still rising from an already high level," Holsboer added.

The Federal Employment Agency described November's fall in unemployment as "stronger than usual." Even on a seasonally-adjusted basis there were 18,000 fewer Germans out of work during the month.

--IANS

pgh/