German unemployment holds steady at record lows

Joblessness in Germany held fast at record lows in July, official data showed Tuesday, as employers in Europe's powerhouse economy shrug off concerns about global trade tensions. Just 5.2 percent of workers were unemployed in July, when adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects, the federal labour agency (BA) said in a statement, in line with analyst expectations.
The figure, the lowest level since German reunification in 1990, is unchanged from May and June. "The development of the labour market is very favourable but less vigorous," BA chief Detlef Scheele said in a statement. In unadjusted terms, less indicative of underlying trends but more prominent in public debate, the joblessness rate increased by 0.1 percent to 5.1 percent, amounting to a total of 2.32 million people out of work.