German unemployment drops again as labor market stays strong

BERLIN (AP) — German unemployment fell in November by more than expected as the labor market in Europe's biggest economy remained robust.

The Federal Labor Office said Thursday that the unemployment rate, when adjusted for seasonal factors, fell 0.1 percentage points to 5 percent in November over the previous month with 16,000 fewer people out of work. Economists had predicted a jobless drop of 10,000.

In unadjusted figures the rate fell to 4.8 percent from 4.9 percent the previous month with a total of 2.186 million people registered as unemployed, some 18,000 fewer than in October and 182,000 fewer than the same month last year.

Despite the positive development, Germany's economy has recently been showing cracks with official data this month showing gross domestic product declined 0.2 percent in the third quarter.