Finland Times

 

Unemployment in Germany fell in March, adding signals that Europe's largest economy will continue to be driven by domestic demands in its revival, official data showed Tuesday.

     

Compared with the previous month, people registered as unemployed decreased by 83,000 to 3.05 million in March, the German Federal Labour Agency said. Adjusted for seasonal fluctuation, unemployment was down by 12,000 to 2.90 million and the jobless rate dropped to 6.7 percent from 6.8 percent in February.

     

"Positive trends in the labour market continued in March," said Frank-J Weise, chairman of the board of the Federal Employment Agency, adding that the stable labour market last month was another indicator of a solid economy expected to accelerate growth this year.

     

Following a weak growth of 0.4 percent in 2013, the German economy was forecast to expand by 1.8 percent in 2014, driven mainly by domestic demand, including private consumption and investment.

     

Also on Tuesday, the German Federal Statistical Office said the jobless rate based on International Labour Organization (ILO) methods in February was 5.1 percent, among the lowest in the eurozone, where the average unemployment rate stood at 11.9 percent.