German jobless rate remains stable in October, employment likely to rise but progress to become difficult

The German labor market continues to be resilient to the downturn of the economy. The labor market data published today remain almost the same as they have been in the previous months, noted Commerzbank in a research report. Joblessness in the nation increased 6,000 in the month of October on a seasonally adjusted basis. The rate of unemployment remained at the level of 5 percent already reached in the month of May, still exceeding the historical low by just 0.1 percentage points. The slight upward trend in unemployment therefore continues.

The employment data also looks similar. German employment rose by 10,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis in the month of September. The data have been extensively revised. Employment had dropped a bit in June by 6,000. However, this was the only setback, otherwise there were only rises.

Nevertheless, the labor market outlook appears to be clouding. The number of vacancies remains high, but is contracting slowly. Firms are quite hesitant to hire than they were until recently.

“We continue to expect that employment will tend to increase, but progress will become more difficult”, added Commerzbank.