German jobless rate rises to 6.8%

Germany’s unemployment rate has risen to 6.8% in July from 6.6% the previous month.

The 49,000 increase in jobless numbers was due to seasonal influences including the start of the summer holiday period.

The Federal Labour Agency said today that a total of 2.914 million people were registered as unemployed, about 38,000 more than in the same period last year.

Unemployment in Europe’s biggest economy is far lower than in many of the other European Union countries that use the euro. Spain and Greece, for example, have unemployment rates above 25%.