BERLIN (MNI) – Germany’s Labor Minister Ursula von der Leyen said
Tuesday that there are currently no signs that the sovereign debt crisis
in the Eurozone will have a negative impact on the German labor market.
“The risks in the Eurozone and the global economy remain serious
and large,” von der Leyen remarked. “But there are no signs that they
will have an impact on the labor market in the short term.”
The number of jobless in Germany continued to decline in December,
leaving the average level for 2011 at a 20-year low, the Federal Labour
Office reported earlier on Tuesday.
In seasonally adjusted terms, 2.888 million persons were counted as
unemployed last month compared to 2.91 million in November, reducing the
unemployment rate by 0.1 percentage point to 6.8%.
Looking ahead, the minister said she expected the decline of
unemployment to slow this year. Should the economic environment
deteriorate more seriously, the government is ready to support the labor
market again, she said.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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