New figures show that German unemployment averaged 8.2% of the workforce last year, with a total of 3.42 million people unemployed.
The Federal Labour Agency said the rate was an increase from the 2008 level of 7.8%. In December, the unemployment rate rose to 7.8% from 7.6% the previous month.
The raw number of jobless, the headline figure in Germany, climbed in December to 3.276 million, the agency added. This followed three months of falls. Economists expect unemployment to increase further in the coming months.
In addition to a short-time work scheme that has kept more than a million workers on state-subsidised reduced hours, official data show that Germany benefited from a net increase in new companies last year. This appears to have averted an explosion in unemployment amid the economic slowdown.
