The economic downturn is set to weigh less on the German job market than previous crises, the head of the Labour Office said on Sunday, adding Germany would register an additional 130,000 jobless at most next year.
"In the worst scenario, with growth of minus 0.5 percent, our research institute expects 130,000 additional unemployed on annual average for 2009," Labour Office chief Frank-Juergen Weise was quoted as saying by Bild daily. "In the case of zero growth, it's 30,000," he said.
Around 1 million jobs were still unfilled in Germany, Weise said, adding there was full employment in several regions and the average duration of unemployment had halved since 2005.
"The BA (labour office) does not need new job market programmes. We are well prepared for the downturn," Bild quoted Weise as saying in an advance copy of its Monday edition. Economy Minister Michael Glos said last week reforms had made the German labour market more resilient and there was no reason to fear mass unemployment.
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