Germany / Unemployment Rate Declined to 6.8 percent in January

German unemployment unexpectedly declined in January, adding to signs that a pick-up in Europe’s largest economy is gathering pace.

The number of people out of work fell a seasonally adjusted 16,000 to 2.92 million, the Nuremberg-based Federal Labor Agency said today. Economists predicted an increase of 8,000, the median of 31 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey shows. Joblessness declined by 2,000 in December instead of a previously reported gain. The adjusted jobless rate dropped to 6.8 percent this month, matching a two-decade low…

“The German labor market convinced with a distinct robustness in the second half of last year and the beginning of this year,” said Heinrich Bayer, an economist at Postbank Research in Bonn. “No debt crisis, no economic weakness can hurt it. But it’s too early to sound the all clear because the labor market reacts with delay to economic developments. Unemployment could still rise.”

Choosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor from

via German Unemployment Unexpectedly Declined in January – Bloomberg.