BERLIN, Sept 27 Reuters The number of people out of work in Germany rose more than expected in September in the latest sign of the challenges facing Europe39;s largest economy, federal labour office figures showed on Friday.

The office said the number of unemployed increased by 17,000 in seasonally adjusted terms to 2.82 million. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected that figure to rise by 12,000.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate remained stable at 6.0.

There were 696,000 job openings in September, 65,000 fewer than a year ago, the federal labour office said.

Economists forecast that Germany39;s economy, which contracted by 0.1 in the second quarter, may shrink again in the third quarter. A recession is normally defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction.

Amid economic uncertainty, companies in Germ

The Ifo employment barometer fell to 94.0 points in September from 94.8 points in August.

The structural problems of the German economy are gradually leaving their mark on the labour market, said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of Ifo surveys, adding that companies were more frequently considering job cuts.

What has so far been a resilient labour market is starting to feel the impact of the economic weakness. Unemployment is seen edging higher this year to 6.0 from 5.7 in 2023, a level not expected to be reached again until 2026, according to the forecasts of leading economics institutes published on Thursday.

Reporting by Maria Martinez and Holger Hansen,…