German jobless rate falls further

Conditions continue to be conducive for hiring staff

German unemployment continues to fall as improving economic prospects enable companies to hire more workers.

Government figures showed the jobless rate - unadjusted for seasonal factors - falling to 10.1% in February, from 10.2% the month before.

Adjusting for winter layoffs in industries such as construction, the jobless rate fell to 9.3%, its lowest level since mid-2001.

Strong domestic consumer demand has boosted companies' growth prospects.

Scaling up

Using the different International Labour Organization (ILO) measure of unemployment, the jobless rate rose slightly to 7.6% in January on a month-by-month basis.

However, compared with a year earlier, unemployment was 1.2% lower.

The upturn in the German economy in the past year, when growth levels hit a six-year high, resulted in a 826,000 fall in jobless numbers.

The improvement in German consumer spending, allied to a robust export market, has persuaded more firms to expand their workforces.

"The main driver is the solid economic dynamic, together with increasing investment in capacity expansion," said Alexander Koch, an economist with UniCredit.