German jobless rate ticked up in December
Germany’s jobless rate rose slightly in December, a sign that a creaking economy and high European Central Bank interest rates are slowly hitting the labor market.
German adjusted unemployment rose to 5.9% in December, from 5.8% in November and October, data from the Federal Employment Agency showed Wednesday.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected the rate to stay the same as in November, at 5.8%.
The rise in the number of unemployed people decelerated in December, however, climbing 5,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis, less than the 21,000 increase in November, the data showed. Economists expected a 20,000 increase in jobless claimants.
Write to Ed Frankl at edward.frankl@wsj.com