The number of unemployed Germans rose unexpectedly in June, the Federal Labour Office said today, linking the surprise rise to a mild winter that had caused a fall in the number of people out of work.
The jobless total rose by 7,000 to 2.547 million in seasonally adjusted terms, data showed, confounding the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll for a fall of 10,000.
The increase was the first rise since March 2016.
"The positive effects of an unusually mild winter weather which had led to a recovery in spring have been balanced out," the office said in a statement.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.7%, the lowest level since reunification in 1990 and in line with the Reuters poll.
Unadjusted figures showed the number of unemployed fell by 25,000 in June.
Meanwhile, German retail sales rose in May, supporting expectations that private consumption will propel growth in Europe's largest economy this year.
The volatile indicator, which is often subject to revision, showed retail sales rose by 0.5% on the month in real terms, the German Federal Statistics Office said.
That was higher than the 0.3% rise forecast in a Reuters poll and came after a fall of 0.2% in April.
On the year, sales rose by 4.8% in May, almost double the Reuters consensus forecast for a 2.5% increase.
Consumption has taken over exports as the main driver of growth, supported by a robust labour market and low interest rates.
A survey earlier this week showed German consumer sentiment at its best in almost 16 years heading into July.
