Number of unemployed fell by 15,000
Labour market is a source of resilience for German economy
Small increase in unemployment rate expected research firm

BERLIN, Jan 31 Reuters Germany39;s unemployment rate remained stable in January, Labour Office figures showed on Tuesday.

The Federal Labour Office said the number of people out of work fell by 15,000 in seasonally adjusted terms. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected that figure to rise by 5,000.

The number of unemployed people in Germany fell to 2.5 million at the beginning of the year in seasonally adjusted terms. This is a fivemonth low, partly reversing some of the jump since June 2022, as Ukrainian refugees became eligible for jobless benefits, said Melanie Debono, senior Europe economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate stayed unchanged from the previous month at 5.5.

The labour market has been an important driver of the economy39;s resilience over the last few years, said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING.

A combination of fiscal stimulus, furlough schemes and demographic change seems to have made the German labour market almost invincible, Brzeski said.

The labour market remained stable at the beginning of the year, said Andrea Nahles, chairperson of the Federal Labour Office. However, she added that the effects of geopolitical and economic uncertainties are still evident.

The number of unemployed people in Germany rose to 2.6 million in January, in…