The number of unemployed in Germany remains under three million. According to the Federal Agency for Work, which reported on Friday, the figure decreased by 3,000 in February compared to the previous month, standing at 2,989,000.
Adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, the unemployment rate, however, increased by 5,000 and compared to the same month of the previous year, the figure is even 175,000 higher. The unemployment rate remains at 6.4 percent, the same as in the previous month, but was 6.1 percent a year ago.
“The economic weakness is still visible on the labor market” said BA Chairman Daniel Terzenbach in Nuremberg, “and unemployment has only slightly decreased compared to January.”
In contrast, the registered labor demand at the Federal Agency decreased significantly: in February, 639,000 job openings were reported, 67,000 fewer than a year earlier.