The German government says the number of unemployed people in the country dipped below the politically important four million mark in April.
Labour Minister Franz Muentefering said in a statement that the jobless count dropped to 3.967 million last month, and predicted that the number would continue to fall this year.
He noted a strong, positive trend among the jobless under the age of 25, with their numbers sliding to about 400,000 from 555,000 one year ago.
Muentefering, who is also vice-chancellor and a member of the Social Democrats, said Germany was seeing the fruits of former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's labour market reforms, as well as a robust economic recovery.
He released the figures on May Day, one day before the Federal Labour Agency makes its official monthly report on unemployment. German joblessness in March stood at 4.1 million.
