The total number of people looking for work in Germany, the biggest economy in the 12-country euro zone, increased in December, but largely as a result of seasonal factors, figures published by the federal labour office showed today.
The number of people registered as unemployed in the whole of Germany stood at 3.809 million in December, equivalent to 9.3 per cent of the working population, the figures showed.
In November, the pan-German jobless total had stood at 3.645 million and the jobless rate at 8.9 per cent.
The figures were not adjusted to take into account seasonal factors. Adjusted for seasonal factors, however, the jobless total declined by 28,000, the office explained.
In the economically more important west of Germany, the jobless rate edged up to 7.4 per cent in December from 7.2 per cent in November and the unadjusted jobless total rose to 2.454 million from 2.36 million.
In the former communist east, a total 1.355 million people were out of look on an unadjusted basis, up from 1.285 million the previous month, and the jobless rate rose to 17.2 per cent from 16.3 per cent.
AFP