Unemployment is on the rise in Germany as the global economic slowdown bites

And the crisis is beginning to hit the German labour market. Official figures released just a few minutes ago show a year-on-year rise in unemployment for the first time in more than three years. Unemployment is now running at 8.6 percent. Some three point five-eight million people were looking for work in Germany this month, 34 thousand more than last month. Those numbers may appear quite mild in the light of the current crisis but jobless figures usually fall at this time of year. And analysts say things could already be a lot worse if it weren't for a scheme to save jobs by reducing working hours.