The number of unemployed people in Germany has topped three million for the first time in a decade, labour office figures showed yesterday, raising the stakes for the government’s huge investment plans to deliver quick results.
A total of 3.02 million people were unemployed in August in seasonally unadjusted terms, with an increase of 46,000 in the number of people out of work from the previous month.
“In Germany, three million is not just a number. In the context of the labour market, it represents a symbolic threshold – one that separates strength from weakness,” said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING.
Adding to the gloom, inflation climbed more than expected in August to 2.1 per cent, from 1.8pc in July, preliminary data from the federal statistics office showed yesterday.
Germany has been struggling with a persistently weak economy, and US President Donald Trump’s import tariffs could lead to a third year without growth for the first time. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate remained stable at 6.3pc, in line with analysts’ forecast in a Reuters poll.
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