German unemployment rises more than expected in April

German unemployment rose more than expected in April, Labour Office figures showed on Friday, as a sluggish economy took its toll on the labour market.

The Federal Labour Office said the number of people out of work increased by 24,000 in seasonally adjusted terms to 2.567 million. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected that figure to rise by 10,000.

The seasonally-adjusted jobless rate remained stable at 5.6%.

There were 773,000 job openings in April, 79,000 fewer than a year ago. Although the Federal Labour Office has seen a slowdown in labour demand since the summer of 2022, it remains high.

There were 773,00 job opportunities in April, 79,000 fewer than in April of last year. Despite a downturn in labour demand since the summer of 2022, according to the Federal Labour Office, it is still high.

Due to the tight employment market in Germany, employees now have more negotiating leverage when negotiating their wages. On Saturday, German public sector employees and businesses reached a substantial compensation agreement that could serve as a model for subsequent wage negotiations this year.

The German government’s spring economic forecasts, which were released on Wednesday, predict that employment will expand this year and next, but at a somewhat slower rate.