Economic Concerns Rise as German Unemployment Approaches Five Per Cent

BERLIN (AP) – Germany’s unemployment rate edged up to 5% in July as the summer holidays weighed on hiring and worries increase about the strength of Europe’s biggest economy.

The Federal Employment Agency said Wednesday that 2.275 million people were registered as jobless in July, 59,000 more than in June, but 49,000 fewer than July 2018. The unadjusted unemployment rate ticked up to 5% from 4.9% in June.

In seasonally adjusted terms, unemployment stayed at 5% for the third consecutive month.

Senior agency official Daniel Terzenbach said “companies’ demand for new employees is declining slightly” and employment is “still increasing but less dynamically.”

ING economist Carsten Brzeski said “the industrial slowdown of the last 12 months is finally leaving its mark on the domestic economy and more particularly on the labor market.”