BERLIN, May 31 (Reuters) – Unemployment in Germany rose less than expected in May, showing the resilience of the labor market despite a backdrop of recession, official statistics showed on Wednesday.
According to the Federal Employment Agency, the number of unemployed people increased by 9,000 in seasonally adjusted terms, reaching 2.573 million. Analysts polled by Reuters had instead expected an increase of 15,000.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained stable at 5.6%.
“Despite the weak economy, the labor market is generally stable,” said Daniel Terzenbach, head of regions for the Federal Employment Agency.
Compared to May 2022, the number of unemployed increased by 284,000. Ukrainian migration to Germany plays little role in these figures: unemployment would still have increased from one year to the next without counting the refugees, although in a less pronounced way, the agency said.
In May, the office counted 767,000 job offers, 98,000 less than a year ago.
(Report Miranda Murray and Rene Wagner; French version Gaëlle Sheehan, edited by Kate Entringer)
©2023 Thomson Reuters, all rights reserved. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters or its third party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. “Reuters” and the Reuters Logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies.