Jobless rate in Germany dips to 7.3%

Germany’s unemployment rate edged down to 7.3% in March as a traditional springtime upturn was limited by unusually cold weather.

The Federal Labour Agency said today that the unadjusted jobless rate was down from 7.4% in February. The number of people registered as unemployed was 3.098 million – 58,000 fewer than the previous month.

In seasonally adjusted terms the unemployment rate was steady at 6.9% for the sixth consecutive month, in line with economists’ forecasts.

Despite contracting in the last quarter of 2012, the German economy, Europe’s biggest, has remained robust over the past few years, while several other countries in the euro area have struggled.

That has bolstered the labour market – Germany’s jobless rate contrasts with unemployment of more than 25% in Greece and Spain.