German jobless rate edges up in June, millions on furlough

Germany’s unemployment rate rose in June, official figures showed Wednesday. However, the rise was slower than in the previous two months thanks to the government’s coronavirus aid programmes.

The unadjusted jobless rate rose to 6.2% from 6.1% in May. In March, it stood at 5.1%. In seasonally adjusted terms, unemployment was up to 6.4% from 6.3% in May, while in March, it stood at 5%. The federal labor agency said that 2.85 million people were registered as unemployed.

Germany started easing the coronavirus restrictions in late April. In May, the country’s GDP contracted 2.2% in the first quarter compared with the same period in 2019, and the economy entered a recession.

On Wednesday, the labor agency said that it paid out 60% of the salary for 6.83 million furloughed employees in April. It paid out to 2.49 million in people in March, and just to 133,000 in February. Germany has 83 million inhabitants.