German jobless claims unexpectedly fall in November
German jobless claims unexpectedly fell in November, according to data released by Destatis on Friday
Jobless claims fell by 16,000 this month following a revised 5,000 increase in October. Economists had been expecting a 6,000 jump.
The unemployment rate came in steady from October at 5%, in line with expectations.
Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said it was a "solid" report, indicating that the German labour market is holding up in the face of weakness in manufacturing and slowing GDP growth. However, "we still think the underlying trend in unemployment claims is now rising slightly," he said.
"Vacancies also fell further, extending that slide that began earlier in the year, adding to the picture that opportunities in the labour market, and employment growth, are now deteriorating. Looking ahead to the next three months, the overall unemployment rate likely will stay pinned at 5% due to still positive employment growth, but we still think it will rise a few tenths of a percentage point in H1 next year as a lagged response to slower growth."