BERLIN, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Germany's unemployment rate eased slightly to 6.2 percent in October, down 0.1 percentage point from September, the Federal Employment Agency (BA) said Thursday. Despite the modest improvement, the agency warned that the labor market continues to face headwinds from a sluggish economy.
The number of unemployed people fell to 2.91 million, extending the decline after exceeding 3 million in August for the first time in a decade. "The usual autumn upturn has so far been rather subdued," said BA head Andrea Nahles, pointing to weak employment growth and restrained hiring demand.
Compared with a year earlier, the number of jobless rose by 120,000, while the unemployment rate was 0.2 percentage points higher. Economic weakness remains a key drag, with the statistics authority reporting that gross domestic product stagnated in the third quarter.
Job openings continued to decline, with 623,000 vacancies registered in October -- 66,000 fewer than a year ago. However, there are tentative signs of stabilization. The ifo Institute's employment barometer rose to 93.5 points from 92.5 in September, suggesting fewer firms plan layoffs. Service providers, particularly in IT, reported slightly stronger hiring intentions.
"Overall, companies are still cutting more jobs than they are creating new ones," said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of surveys at ifo, adding that businesses remain cautious in staff planning. ■