German unemployment lower again

The German Federal Labor Agency (BA) said Thursday that the number of jobless Germans fell by 76,682 in September from August, with a total of 2.61 million people out of work.

Correspondingly, the nominal unemployment rate declined from 6.1 percent to 5.9 percent - the lowest level since German reunification in October 1990.

"The demand for new employees continues to be high," said Labor Agency chief Frank-Jürgen Weise, as the economy was driven by robust consumer spending and public investment related to the influx of migrants and Syrian war refugees.

IHS economist Timo Klein said employment had been helped by migration from troubled eurozone countries and Eastern Europe. The influx of asylum seekers in 2015, primarily from the Mideast would "strengthen this tendency" in the next two years "as more and more obtain right of residence," he told the news agency AP.

Different picture

As it remains hugely unclear what qualifications the refugees are bringing with them to Germany, some economists doubt the positive effects of the influx of migrants to the country's economy.

In their autumn economic forecast for Europe's biggest economy, five of Europe's leading economic institutes predicted a rise in German unemployment for the years ahead, partly also due to many refugees seeking entry in the labor market.

Further evidence that the German jobs miracle might subside in the course of the next few months was presented by the labor agency itself.  When adjusted for seasonal factors, the number of jobless people in Germany edged up during September by about 1,000 to 2.68 million. The adjusted unemployment rate, however, remained at 6.1 percent, BA said.

uhe/kd (AP, dpa, Reuters)