Unemployment in Germany declined somewhat less in February. With weakened employment confidence in the past few months, the labor market outlook should have dropped. However, there is only very little proof of any material slowdown. Germany’s unemployment is likely to have dropped by further 10k in March, according to Societe Generale. The data for Germany’s employment continues to be solid. In January, Germany’s employment rose by 74,000 m/m, consistent with increasing labor supply.
Moreover, the number of vacant jobs in February reached 630,000. The unexpected solid figure for the nation’s industrial production in January implies that confidence indicators might be misleading. According to Societe Generale, there is still certain stabilization to come in the labor market; however, the risks seem to be more balanced, as compared with downside risks a few months ago.
