Figures released this morning show that retail sales in Germany rose in April amid signs that consumer confidence is finally picking up.
German retail sales rose by 2.8% compared with March, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement. In March, retail sales had fallen by 1.7%.
The figures meant retail sales were down 1% on an annual basis in April. The retail sales data are in line with the latest consumer sentiment survey in Germany, which showed that households are increasingly willing to spend as the economy picks up and their personal financial situation improves.
Meanwhile, the number of people out of work in Germany fell in May thanks to the usual spring pick-up in the labour market as a result of the warmer weather.
The German jobless total fell by 255,000 to 4.54 million in May in raw or unadjusted terms, bringing the jobless rate down to 10.8% from 11.5%, the Federal Labour Agency in Nuremberg calculated. Unemployment usually improves in the spring months as a result of the warmer weather.
But even taking such factors into account, there was an improvement in the German labour market this month. Seasonally adjusted data published separately by the Bundesbank showed a decline in the German jobless total of around 93,000 to just under 4.6 million in May. The adjusted jobless rate declined to 11% from 11.3%.
