Wednesday January 7, 09:43 AM
German jobless back above 3 mln: labour office
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BERLIN (AFP) - The number of people out of work in Germany rose by 114,000 in December to 3.1 million as the fallout from the economic crisis begins to be felt in the job market, official data showed on Wednesday.
The head of the German Labour Office, Frank Weise, said in a statement, "2008 was the best year for the jobs market. Nevertheless, the December data show that the economic crisis has reached the jobs market."
"As a result, our optimism for 2009 has also been dampened," Weise added.
December's unemployment rate rose by 0.3 points to 7.4 percent.
Adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, the jobless number rose by 18,000.
Following a surprisingly resilient performance in recent months, the positive trend in the German jobs market has now turned, the labour office said in a statement.
Europe's largest economy is already in recession and is forecast to suffer its worst slump in the post-war period in 2009.
In a bid to stave off the worst effects of the downturn, the grand coalition of German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due later this month to launch a second stimulus package worth some 50 billion euros (70 billion dollars).
In mid-December, Weise told the magazine Focus that German unemployment could soar to 3.6 million within six months.
"By the second half of next year, it is possible, on the basis of current data, that the number out of work will reach 3.6 million," he was quoted as saying.
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