Germany's unemployment rate held steady in April, the Federal Labour Agency said today, while a survey showed German consumers' mood remained robust.
The figures are two new signs that Europe's largest economy is continuing to weather the European financial crisis.
The labour office said the jobless rate remained unchanged at 6.9%, just off its two-decade low, despite a slight rise of 4,000 people seeking jobs when adjusted for seasonal factors.
The unadjusted rate dropped from 7.3% in March to 7.1% in April, with the actual number of Germans seeking work falling by 78,000 to 3.02 million.
Labour Agency head Frank-Juergen Weise said that although the figures showed no major improvement, the "German labour market is overall in good shape." The euro zone, meantime, is struggling with an overall unemployment rate of about 12%.
Germany has so far managed to avoid slipping into recession like several other European countries. It posted a decline in fourth-quarter growth in 2012 but most economists expect a return to growth in the first quarter of 2013.
Preliminary growth figures will not be published until May 15. Two quarters of falling output in a row is one common definition of a recession.
In another positive sign the forward-looking GfK consumer climate index released today rose to 6.2 for May - its highest level in nearly six years, and slightly up from a revised 6 in April.
GfK reported consumers' income expectations and willingness to buy were both up, though their view on how the overall economic situation will develop in the next year dropped slightly.
GfK cautioned, however, that even with the good figures, consumption will suffer if the debt crisis worsens.
"In view of the stable labour market figures and rising incomes, consumers do not appear to consider their own economic situation to be at risk," the agency said. "However, they are not quite so optimistic when it comes to economic development in general,'' it added.
