Official figures show that German unemployment fell sharply in September to 6.6%, mainly due to seasonal factors.
The Federal Labour Agency said the number of people out of work was down by 149,000 from August to September, and down by 231,000 year-on-year to stand at 2.79 million.
Adjusted for seasonal effects, unemployment was down by 26,000 over the month, a much bigger decrease than the figure of 10,000 expected by economists. In August, the jobless rate stood at 7%.
"The situation on the labour market continued to improve in September. Demand for labour remains high," said labour agency chief Frank Weise.
