NUREMBERG, Germany, Sept 1 (Reuters) - German unemployment unexpectedly fell in August for the second month in a row, aided by government measures designed to prevent mass layoffs ahead of the federal election on Sept. 27.
A government scheme to subsidise part-time work and statistical changes helped push joblessness down by 1,000 on the month, adjusted for seasonal swings, Federal Labour Office data showed on Tuesday.
The fall in unemployment contrasted strongly with the
mid-range forecast in a Reuters poll of 33 economists for
unemployment to climb by 30,000 on the month in August
The unemployment data was the last before Germany's federal election and could lend support to Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives who already lead other parties in opinion polls [ID:nLR119298].
The decline was largely thanks to one-off effects, the Office said. If these factors were stripped out, there would have been an adjusted rise of around 25,000.
(Reporting by Joerg Volkerling; Writing by Sarah Marsh)