Germany keeps jobless numbers down in May
GERMANY’S unemployment rate stayed at a record low last month, indicating that private consumption will propel growth in the country’s economy this year.
Data from the German labour office showed the number of people out of work decreased by 6,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis to 2.786m.
Meanwhile, the Eurozone returned to inflation in May with a higher-than-expected increase in consumer prices, after five months of falls and stagnation, due to rising food costs and the waning impact of cheap energy.
The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said consumer prices in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 0.3 per cent year-on-year last month, after a flat reading in April, beating market expectations of a 0.2 per cent increase.
The Eurostat estimate does not contain monthly data, but the annual data showed that more expensive unprocessed food and services had the biggest upward impact on the overall index.