Unemployment in Germany dropped slightly in April, hovering around the lowest level for about 20 years, official statistics showed today, as Europe's top economy continues to power ahead.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.1%, unchanged from the March figure, the Federal Labour Agency (BA) said. However, there were 37,000 fewer people looking for work than the same time last month.
On an unadjusted basis, the unemployment rate fell to 7.3% from 7.6% the previous month. There were 3.078 million unemployed in total, a drop of 132,000, the office said.
'The stable, positive trend on the labour market has continued with the economic upswing. Unemployment dropped further in April,' said Frank-Juergen Weise, the head of the BA.
After suffering its worst recession in more than 60 years in 2009, the German economy has bounced back strongly, registering a record growth rate of 3.6% in 2010. This year, Berlin expects the economy to grow by 2.6% this year, ahead of European rivals Britain and France.
