German employment hits record high in 2013

The number of people in employment in Europe΄s biggest economy hit a record high for the seventh consecutive year in 2013, although the increase was smaller than in the last two years, Germany΄s Statistics Office said on Thursday.

According to Reuters, with 41.8 million people in work, some 232,000 jobs were created last year but the rise was roughly half the size of the average for 2012 and 2011, the office said.

Germany΄s jobless rate has held steady at just below 7.0 percent for the last two years and is the envy of crisis-hit euro zone partners such as Spain and Greece where more than one in four people is officially out of work.

Strong employment data bodes well for domestic demand, on which Berlin is relying to support economic growth this year as the traditionally export-driven economy suffers from a slowdown in some emerging markets and fragile demand from the euro zone.

However, some of Germany΄s economic institutes have warned that plans by Chancellor Angela Merkel΄s new right-left government to introduce a minimum wage may cause long-term job losses.

Source: capital.gr