More than 40 million gainfully employed people in November

Over the last months of 2007 the number of gainfully employed people developed particularly positively: in November the number of Germans having a job exceeded 40 million the third month in a row. In November 2007 the Federal Statistical Office registered about 40.29 million gainfully employed people which is 627.000 or +1.6% more than in November 2006. What is even more important is the fact that the number of unemployed people hit a 15-year record low in December.

Thus, a new employment record set in October was once again surpassed by 70.000 (+0.2%) in November last year. This month-to-month increase was bigger than the average increase over the past five years (+26.000). In adjusted-for-season figures the number of people with a job increased by 34.000 in the period from October to November 2007.

According to provisional estimates the number of unemployed people in November 2007 was 3.42 million. This corresponds to a decline of 550.000 (-13.9%) as compared to November 2006. Also fallen had the harmonized unemployment rate for the European Union which stood at 7.9% as compared to 9.2% in November 2006.

The December figures provided in this respect by the Federal Labour Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) in Nuremberg are similarly encouraging: according to this body unemployment amounted to just 3.4 million in December which is the smallest rate in 15 years. The reason for this positive development is said to be an economic upswing taking place. GERMAN

Matomo