Labour Office blames mild winter for biggest German jobless rise in five years
BERLIN — German unemployment posted its strongest monthly rise in more than five years in May, but the Labour Office said mild winter weather was largely to blame for the unexpectedly weak figures.The number of people out of work increased by 24,000 to 2.905-million on a seasonally adjusted basis, data showed on Wednesday. It was the largest rise since April 2009, when Germany was in the midst of its deepest post-war recession due to the global financial crisis.The mid-range forecast in a Reuters poll had been for a drop of 15,000.Because of the mild winter, the Labour Office said employers — presumably in weather-sensitive sectors such as construction — had not reduced headcount at the usual rate in the early months of the year. Therefore, the traditional spring bounce-back in hiring failed to materialise."The mild winter, which had flattered German economic data a bit in the first quarter with strong GDP (gross domestic product) growth and job market gains, is now striking back," ...
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