BERLIN (MNI) – Despite the continuing drop of unemployment in
April, German Labor Minister Ursula von der Leyen warned Thursday
against excessive optimism with respect to future job market
developments.
Unemployment declined for the 14th consecutive month in April, the
Federal Labour Office reported earlier today. The number of persons
actively searching for work fell by a seasonally adjusted 37,000,
lowering the overall level to 2.97 million.
Von der Leyen called the labor market development in April “solid,”
but cautioned that there “is no reason for euphoria.”
The Minister pointed to possible risks for Germany from the
sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone, the upheavals in the Arab world
and the Japanese disasters.
In other remarks, von der Leyen said the upcoming opening of
Germany’s borders to free movement of labour from the new Eastern
European member states of the European Union on May 1 will likely help
partially solve Germany’s problem of a skilled labor shortage.
Germany’s IW economic research institute earlier this week forecast
that roughly 800,000 people from the new EU member states could migrate
to Germany over the next two years.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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