BERLIN (Reuters) – The number of people out of work in Germany rose more than expected in July, the latest sign of the difficulties facing Europe’s largest economy, data from the Federal Employment Office showed on Wednesday.
The number of unemployed rose by 18,000 in seasonally adjusted figures, compared with an increase of 15,000, according to the figures, compared with analysts polled by Reuters.
The unemployment rate remained stable in July, however, at 6.0%, as in the previous month and in line with the forecast of economists polled by Reuters.
“The weak economic growth is weighing on the labour market,” stressed Daniel Terzenbach of the Labour Office. “At the beginning of the summer holidays, unemployment and underemployment increased more sharply than usual,” he added.
According to the Labour Office, there were 703,000 job offers in July, 69,000 fewer than a year ago.
The German economy, the worst performing major economy in 2023, is struggling to recover amid high energy costs, weak global orders and record low interest rates.
The situation remains grim in Germany as the country’s GDP shrank by 0.1% in the second quarter after narrowly avoiding a recession earlier this year, official data showed on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Holger Hansen and Miranda Murray; by Claude Chendjou, edited by Augustin Turpin)
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