* Unadjusted jobless falls below key 3 million mark
* Adjusted jobless rate steady at 7.5 percent
* Figure misses forecast, but trend still positive-economist
(Adds economist quote, graphic, details, background)
NUREMBERG, Germany, Oct 28 (Reuters) - German unemployment fell slightly in October, dropping to its lowest level in 18 years as the impact of persistently strong growth in Europe's top economy continued to filter through to the jobs market.
The number of jobless fell by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.153 million, figures from the Labour Office showed on Thursday, while the headline level dipped to 2.945 million, confirming figures announced a day earlier. [ID:nLDE69Q1VE]
The headline reading fell below the 3 million mark -- a key political threshold -- for the first time since November 2008, to its lowest point since October 1992.
On an adjusted basis, the jobless rate held steady at 7.5 percent, while economists had forecast 7.4 percent.
"Although October's decline in unemployment turned out weaker than expected, the underlying trend in the German labour market clearly remains one of rapid improvement on the back of strong economic growth," said Aline Schuiling from ABN Amro.
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Graphic on German unemployment:
http://r.reuters.com/cyt62q
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Data on Europe's biggest economy over the past week has been
bullish, signalling its unexpectedly strong recovery could hold
up in the face of signs of fragility in the global economy.
Consumer morale remains at its highest level since May 2008 going into November on expectations for a further rebound, a survey by GfK market research group showed on Tuesday.
Business sentiment hit its highest level in 3-1/2 years in October and firms' expectations also improved, a survey showed last week, and the corporate outlook continued to improve on Thursday.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG
And truckmaker MAN SE
(Reporting by Joerg Voelkerling; Editing by John Stonestreet)