German labour agency to cut jobs on jobless drop

Germany's federal Labour Agency plans on cutting some 10,000 jobs because of falling unemployment, its chief executive told Monday's edition of Bild newspaper. "We are going to cut 10,000 jobs by 2015," or about 10 percent of staff, Frank-Juergen Weise told the newspaper. The cuts, which will affect administrative staff rather than unemployment councillors, must still be approved by the government, Juergen added. Most job cuts will take place by doing away with temporary contracts and by failing to replace retiring staff. German unemployment in May fell to a 20-year low point, below the politically sensitive three-million mark, thanks to a strong upswing in Europe's biggest economy, according to official figures. The number of people out of work dropped by 67,000 from May and by 255,000 year-on-year to stand at 2.89 million, the Labour Agency said, with the jobless rate inching 0.1 percentage points lower to 6.9 percent. Adjusted for seasonal effects, the unemployment rate held steady at seven percent, the lowest level for Germany since records were compiled following its reunification in 1990.