German unemployment sinks below
four-million mark
1 hour, 56 minutes ago
BERLIN (AFP) - The number of unemployed people
in Germany, the eurozone's biggest economy, dipped below the politically key
mark of four million in April, Labour Minister Franz Muentefering said Tuesday.
The jobless count dropped to 3.967 million
last month, Muentefering said in a statement, and predicted that the number
would continue to fall this year.
"The growth forecasts and labour market
development show a clear trend: unemployment is sinking," Muentefering
said.
Around 5.05 million people were on the dole in
April last year, about 1.1 million more than now, he said.
He noted a strong, positive trend among the
jobless under the age of 25, with their numbers sliding to about 400,000 from
555,000 one year ago.
Muentefering, who is also vice-chancellor and
a member of the Social Democrats, one half of Germany's left-right coalition
government, said Germany was seeing the fruits of former chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder's labour market reforms, as well as a robust
economic recovery.
Muentefering released the figures on May Day,
one day before the Federal Labour Agency makes its official monthly report on
unemployment.
German joblessness in March stood at 4.108
million.