The number of Germans out of work fell by 12,000 to 4.796 million in August, the Federal Labour Office said. The unemployment rate was steady at 11.6%.
When not adjusted for seasonal factors the picture looked better, with jobless numbers down by 44,000 to 4.728 million, and the rate sliding to 11.4%.
Job creation is likely to be one of the key issues in next month’s election.
While Germany’s unemployment rate is sitting stubbornly above 11%, in France it has fallen to its lowest level in two years, government figures showed on Wednesday.
France’s jobless rate declined to 9.9% in July as the number of people looking for work dropped by 25,600 to 2.42 million.
So how long would it take the media elite, Hollywood, and the democrats to tar and feather George Bush if these were US unemployment numbers? They nearly did so after 9-11 when the unemployment reached 6.0%.