In December, Germany's jobless rate rose to nearly 11 percent. Labor office head Frank-Juergen Weise attributed the rise to the winter break and accompanying slowdown of construction activity. The German economy is also still in a period of recovery. In order to revive the economy, the government is looking to reform the country?s welfare system.
See "German Unemployment Climbs in December", The New York Times, January 3, 2005