FRANKFURT ,Germany (AFP) — Germany kept unemployment at historic lows in April as the recovery in Europe’s biggest economy remains on track, unfazed by global uncertainties and a huge influx of refugees, data showed on Thursday.
The unemployment rate — which measures the jobless total against the working population as a whole — stood at 6.2 percent in April, unchanged from March.
In numerical terms, the number of people registered as unemployed in Germany declined by 16,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 2.706 million, the Federal Labour Office said in a statement.
At current levels, unemployment now stands at the lowest level since West and East Germany reunited in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall the previous year.
In raw, or unadjusted, terms, the jobless total decreased, falling by 101,000 to 2.74 million. The unemployment rate fell to 6.3 percent in April from 6.5 percent in March, the office said.
“The German economy is expected to show tangible growth in the first quarter of 2016, even if the level of growth won’t be maintained over the course of the year,” the labour office said.
“In view of the global uncertainties, economic expectations are pointing to a moderate upturn. The labour market is continuing to develop positively,” the office said.
© 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse
