The German government expects the economy to contract by a record of some 2.25 percent in 2009 and for unemployment to rise by around 500,000 by the end of the year, a senior government official said on Friday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official told Reuters the job losses would equate to an average increase in the number of unemployed of 250,000 this year.
On average, some 3.27 million were registered as jobless last year, the lowest total since 1992. The official told Reuters the government expects the economy to shrink by about 2.25 percent this year, confirming reports from German media on Thursday. Since World War Two, the German economy has not contracted by more than one percent in a year. "That number is now fixed," the official said.