German unemployment slips in August as recovery progresses

BERLIN (AP) — Official statistics show that the number of unemployed people in Germany declined slightly in August, unusually for the summer month, while the country’s jobless rate remained steady at 5.6%. In its last jobs report before a national election on Sept. 26, the Federal Labor Agency said that 2.578 million were registered as unemployed in August. That was 12,000 lower than in July and 377,000 lower than a year earlier. It is the first time since 2010 that the number of jobless has dropped in August, apparently reflecting a pickup after many coronavirus-related restrictions were dropped. In seasonally adjusted terms, the unemployment rate dropped to 5.5% from 5.6%, the latest in a string of small declines.