— Aug -4k, Jul +23k, Jun +22k, May +34k, Apr +34k, Mar +41k, Feb +21k
FRANKFURT (MNI) – German employment saw its first decline in just
over two and a half years in August, while the number of jobless
maintained its downward trend, the Federal Statistical Office reported
on Thursday.
Employment, as measured in International Labour Organisation (ILO)
terms, fell by 4,000 persons to 41.614 million last month. The last time
employment lost ground was in January 2010.
Without taking into consideration seasonal trends, the number of
gainfully employed rebounded by 38,000 persons to 41.595 million, or
+1.0% on the year.
The ILO seasonally-adjusted unemployment level fell by 11,800
persons to 2.31 million, though the rate held firm at 5.5%.
While Germany’s coveted labour market has helped to prop up
consumer sentiment over the past several months, the slight rise in
unemployment has already begun to weigh on households’ income
expectations. The preliminary September PMI report signalled renewed job
cutting in the private sector, despite stable output levels.
Looking ahead to 2013, the German Labour Agency’s IAB research
institute expects unemployment to rise to 2.934 million from a projected
average level of 2.897 million in 2012, with employment forecast to rise
to 41.848 million from 2012’s expected 41.644 million.
At 7:55 GMT today, the Federal Labour Office will publish
September’s unemployment figures. The median forecast in an MNI survey
of analysts is for a further rise of 9,000 persons for an unchanged
seasonally-adjusted jobless rate of 6.8%.
— Frankfurt bureau: +49 69 720 142: email: frankfurt@marketnews.com —
[TOPICS: M$G$$$,MAGDS$,M$X$$$,M$XDS$]
