German unemployment falls further, fewer people on short-time work

The number of jobless people in Germany fell for the third month in a row in September, data showed on Wednesday, in a further positive sign for household spending which is expected to drive a recovery in Europe's largest economy from the coronavirus crisis.

CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH

The labour office said the number of people out of work fell by 8,000 in seasonally adjusted terms to 2.907 million. The unemployment rate fell to 6.3 per cent from 6.4 per cent in the previous month.

The number of people on short-time work schemes, which have shielded the labour market from the brunt of the pandemic, dropped to 4.24 million in July from its peak of nearly 6 million reached in April at the height of the pandemic.