Official figures show that the number of unemployed people in Germany rose to just over 3.7 million in July, up around 28,000 from June.
But the country's labour office said that the jobless number fell after seasonal factors were taken into account.
The unadjusted jobless rate in July edged up to to 8.9% of the workforce from 8.8% in June. But the number of unemployed was 671,000 lower than the figure a year earlier, indicating the strength of the upturn in the German economy.
The seasonally adjusted figure, considered a better gauge of the labour market, was down 45,000 from June.
