By Maria Martinez
BERLIN (Reuters) -The number of people out of work in Germany rose less than expected in December, federal labour office figures showed on Friday.
The office said the number of unemployed increased by 10,000 in seasonally adjusted terms to 2.87 million. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected that figure to rise by 15,000.
"The winter break on the labour market begins in December. As a result, unemployment and underemployment increased in December, as is usual for this month," said labour office head Andrea Nahles.
Due to the subdued economic outlook, the number of unemployed is expected to continue to rise this year, exceeding the 3 million mark for the first time in 10 years at the beginning of 2025.
The average unemployment rate for the year edged higher to 6.0% in 2024 from 5.7% in 2023, according to the office.
"Looking back, the ongoing economic downturn in 2024 has left increasingly deep marks on the labour market," said Nahles.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained stable at 6.1%.
"That’s good news, but it’s only a matter of time before Germany’s unemployment rate drifts higher again," said Claus Vistesen, chief euro zone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
There were 654,000 job openings in December, 59,000 fewer than a year ago, showing a slowdown in labour demand, the federal labour office said.
Relevant early labour market indicators do not suggest any improvement for the time being, said Marc Schattenberg, economist at Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn) Research.
He added that after reaching a new high of 46.1 million on average in 2024, the number of people in employment is likely to stagnate at best this year.
“Even a slight decline cannot be ruled out,” Schattenberg said.