Associated Press
German jobless rises to 9.7 percent in November, more than 4 million out of work
Wednesday December 4, 9:58 am ET
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Germany's jobless rate rose in November to 9.7 percent and the number of people out of work topped the politically sensitive 4 million mark, the country's federal labor office said Wednesday.
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The jobless rate rose from 9.4 percent in October, while the number of Germans without a job rose by 96,100 to 4,025,842, the office said. The figure was 236,900 higher than in November last year.
Labor office head Florian Gerster said that it was "a serious rise, beyond the usual seasonal ups and downs."
On Tuesday, Finance Minister Hans Eichel said that unemployment likely would climb "clearly" above 4 million this winter. It reached 4.29 million in February and again edged over 4 million in the summer.
"The economy is too weak to reduce unemployment," Gerster said. Germany has been mired in near-zero growth for more than a year.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has blamed the world economic slowdown for his country's sluggish economy. He has proposed a plan to tackle Germany's stubbornly high unemployment that centers on turning job-placement offices into fast-moving temporary staffing agencies, while putting more pressure on people to fill available positions and reducing red tape for the self-employed.
But many economists trace the problem to Germany's high payroll taxes and cumbersome labor regulations that make companies think twice before hiring new workers, fearing they won't be able to shed them in a downturn. The conservative opposition also complains the plan does too little to reform the labor market and has stalled it in parliament.
Wednesday's jobless figures underlined anew the persistent difference between the more prosperous western part of the country, which had an unemployment rate of 7.8 percent, and the formerly communist east, with a 17.6 percent jobless rate. |
