German unemployment holds steady at historic lows

German unemployment in June remained at its lowest level since the country's reunification in 1990, official data showed Friday, as all indicators remain in the green for Europe's largest economy.

Some 5.7 percent of the working population were unemployed in June, adjusted for seasonal effects, federal statistics authority Destatis reported.

That was the same rate as in May and in line with analysts' expectations.

"Employment and the demand for new workers have increased strongly once again," Federal Labour Agency (BA) chief Detlef Scheele said in a statement.

"Unemployment should continue to sink at least until autumn, longer than expected until now," commented Joerg Zeuner, chief economist at public investment bank KfW.

But he noted a lack of skilled workers in "bottleneck occupations" including nurses, doctors, construction workers and IT experts "is the rule almost nationwide", calling for wage increases and adjustments in qualifications and training to meet the demand.

source: AFP