Merkel's Germany continues to lead Europe
Admittedly, most of the recent news from the Eurozone has been doom and gloom. Hence, the news that German unemployment fell to 6.8% in December and to its lowest rate since 1991 was welcome news.
According to the German Federal Labour Agency, the the adjusted jobless rate fell to 6.8% from 6.9% in November, marking a new record low since figures for unified Germany were first published.
Politicians from the United States and most of the other Eurozone countries would give their right arms for such unemployment numbers.
Currently, the U.S. has an 8.6% unemployment rate, but in the Eurozone itself, spare a thought for Spain, where 21.5% of the population is unemployed.
The seasonally-adjusted total for the number of people out of work in Germany fell 22,000 to 2.88 million in December. The agency said the number of people out of work averaged 2.976 million over the course of last year.
News of the unemployment rate saw the German Dax stock exchange rise almost 1% by noon on Tuesday.
Economists warn, though, that growth will slow this year. Germany will be hard pressed to separate its fortunes from those of the slumping Eurozone and that could mean people losing their jobs and a further squeeze on wages.
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