German jobless rate down to 6.5%

Germany’s unemployment rate dipped to 6.5% in September as hiring picked up after the summer break, new figures show.

The Federal Labour Agency said today that the unadjusted jobless rate fell from 6.7% in August, with 2.808 million people registered unemployed.

That is 94,000 fewer than in August and a drop of 41,000 compared with September last year.

Labour agency chief Frank-Juergen Weise attributed the decrease to the traditional seasonal upturn.

When adjusted for seasonal trends, the jobless rate stood at 6.7% for the seventh consecutive month, as economists had forecast.

However, a rise of 12,000 in the number of unemployed contrasted with predictions of a drop of 2,000.

Business confidence in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has slid as turmoil in Ukraine and sluggish global growth cloud the outlook for exports.