Germany′s 2018 unemployment hits record low


FE Team | Published: January 05, 2019 13:53:29 | Updated: January 12, 2019 13:05:59


File Photo (Collected)

German unemployment rate in 2018 has fallen to a record low and the number of jobless people in December 2018 fell more than expected, the Federal Employment Agency (BA) has reported.

The number of unemployed people in the last month of 2018 decreased, after seasonal adjustments, to 2.26 million, down by 14,000 compared to the previous month, the BA said on Friday.

The Nuremberg-based agency said in a monthly statement that as a result, the unemployment rate in December remained 5.0 per cent, the lowest since German reunification in 1990, reports Xinhua.

In the past year as a whole, the unemployment rate fell by 0.5 per cent from 2017 to 5.2 per cent, marking a historic low, according to the statement.

"The labour market continued to develop well, even though the economic upswing has lost some momentum," said BA head Detlef Scheele.

"The number of unemployed continues to fall. Companies' demand for new workers remains at a very high level," he added.

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