BERLIN, April 28 Reuters German unemployment rose more than expected in April, Labour Office figures showed on Friday, as a sluggish economy took its toll on the labour market.

The Federal Labour Office said the number of people out of work increased by 24,000 in seasonally adjusted terms to 2.567 million. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected that figure to rise by 10,000.

The seasonallyadjusted jobless rate remained stable at 5.6.

The spring revival on the labour market remains weak in April, said Labour Office head Andrea Nahles. Overall, however, the labour market is in a stable condition.

Compared to the same month last year, unemployment was up by about 280,000 people, primarily due to the arrival of Ukrainian refugees, Labour Minister Hubertus Heil said, adding Nevertheless, we have a stable labour market in a difficult economic environment.

The unemployment rate will soon tick higher, judging by the rising trend in unemployment claims, according to Claus Vistesen, chief euro zone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

The increase in April marks a continuation of a rising trend in jobless claims since the beginning of the year, consistent with the sharp slowdown in GDP growth towards the end of last year, Vistesen said.

In April, there were 773,000 job openings, 79,000 fewer than a year ago. Although the Federal Labour Office has seen a slowdown in labour demand since the summer of 2022, it remains at a high level.

Germany39;s labour market is so…