Catherwood LibraryILR School

The German jobless rate moved up from 8.6% in January to 8.7% in February, a recent government report announced. Although Europe's largest economy has been one of the more stable, remaining at approximately the same level for the past three months, economists were pleased with the small size of the rise, given that the winter has been particularly difficult. In numbers the unemployment rate rose only by about 26,000, but when compared to February 2009, the picture looks a little bleaker: 91,000 less people were unemployed in Germany in February of last year. Experts believe that some economic recovery, as well as a government program allowing companies to reduce hours without laying people off, helped keep the winter rise in unemployment to a minimum. The rate is expected to rise a bit more, peaking at around 9% in the classic it-will-get-worse-before-it-gets-better scenario.