German Unemployment Falls in September

The number of people out of work in Germany fell in September, but largely as a result of seasonal factors rather than any fundamental improvement in the labor market, official data showed on Thursday. The German jobless total declined by 79,000 to 4.65 million in September in raw or unadjusted terms, bringing the jobless rate down to 11.2 percent from 11.4 percent, the Federal Labor Office in Nuremberg calculated. Unemployment usually declines in the autumn as students who signed on for jobless benefits during the summer holidays go back to school or college. However, in seasonally adjusted data published separately by the Bundesbank, the German jobless total actually increased by 39,000 to 4.835 million in September, the highest level since June. The adjusted jobless total edged up to 11.7 percent from 11.6 percent, the German central bank said. A regional breakdown of the numbers showed that unemployment in the economically more important western Germany rose this month. By contrast, the jobless total was down in the former communist East.