German unemployment rises, so do vacancies

The number of jobless people in Germany rose to roughly 2.4 million in August, the Federal Employment Agency (BA) reported Thursday.

The figure marks an increase of 26,000 people month on month, with the unemployment rate standing at 5.2 percent, up just 0.1 percent from July.

Things look a lot rosier in a year-on-year comparison, seeing a decline of 194,000 people out of work across the nation.

"The monthly increase can be put down to seasonal factors," BA President Detlef Scheele said in a statement.

Students behind the result

He noted that the jobless count typically increased in August as students graduated and registered as job seekers, while many companies held off hiring new staff until after the summer holidays.

Scheele also pointed out that underemployment affected 3.2 million people in August, 18,000 fewer than in the previous month.

While more people couldn't find a suitable job, the number of vacancies registered with the Nuremberg-based employment office rose to 828,000 in August, marking an increase of 62,000 vacancies year on year.

BA officials emphasized they saw the German economy in a continuously healthy state, with analysts expecting third-quarter growth to match the 0.5 percent rise booked between April and June, outpacing the eurozone's 0.4 percent expansion one more time.

hg/ap (dpa, AFP)