Unemployment in Germany has climbed above 3million for the first time in a decade in the latest sign of deepening gloom for Europe’s biggest economy.
Official figures showed the jobless total in the country hit 3.02million in August – up by 46,000 from the previous month.
And separate data showed inflation jumped from 1.8 per cent to a slightly higher-than-expected 2.1 per cent this month.
The figures cast a fresh pall over the once mighty industrial powerhouse now routinely described as a the ‘sick man of Europe’.
Deepening gloom: Official figures showed the jobless total in the country hit 3.02m in August – up by 46,000 from the previous month
Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING Bank, said: ‘In Germany, 3million is not just a number. In the context of the labour market, it represents a symbolic threshold – one that separates strength from weakness.’
Germany’s persistent feeble performance has seen GDP shrink for two consecutive years.
Further challenges await as Donald Trump’s 15 per cent tariffs on imports from the European Union start to bite.
France faces turmoil, too, with borrowing costs driven higher after a confidence vote called by prime minister Francois Bayrou is expected to lead to the government’s collapse.
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