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Bloomberg
German unemployment unexpectedly rose for the first time in almost two years as the economic slowdown finally started to take a toll on the labour market.
The number of people out of work unexpectedly climbed by 60,000 in May, compared with economists’ forecasts for a decline of 8,000. The jobless rate also rose, to 5 percent from a record-low 4.9 percent. The Federal Labor Agency said about two-thirds of the increase was due to reclassification of some people in the statistics, though it also cited the slowdown in Europe’s largest economy.
“We are seeing the first signs of a weakening economy on unemployment,†it said on Wednesday. It added that demand for new employees is still at a high level, but is softening. German 10-year bunds rose for a third day, pushing yields further below zero, to minus 0.167 percent. Strength in Germany’s labour market has helped to boost consumer spending and support the economy. A turnaround in fortunes could be very damaging, given ongoing weakness in manufacturing and the auto industry, as well as trade tensions that threaten to hit exports.