German unemployment rises in May

Unemployment in Germany increased in seasonally adjusted terms in May, but the country's labour market is continuing to hold up relatively well to the eurozone debt crisis, official data showed on Wednesday. On the face of it, headline unemployment fell this month, but that was due to seasonal factors, monthly data compiled by the Federal Labour Office showed. The raw or unadjusted jobless total fell by 83,360 to 2.937 million and the jobless rate -- which measures the number of unemployed as a proportion of the working population as a whole -- fell to 6.8 percent in May from 7.1 percent in April. Nevertheless, the seasonally-adjusted jobless total -- which irons out seasonal fluctuations -- increased by 21,000 the agency said, faster than analysts' expectations. The seasonally-adjusted jobless rate was unchanged at 6.9 percent. "The labour market is fundamentally sound and is developing solidly in a difficult economic environment," said labour agency chief Frank-Juergen Weise. "Unemployment fell in May as a result of the usual spring upturn, but not as much as in previous years. In seasonally-adjusted terms, unemployment increased," Weise said.