German jobless figures up only slightly

The German labor market has shown no relevant signs of weakening despite a slight rise in the number of jobless people in the country. The end-of-2012 economic contraction did not throw many people out of work. Fears of the German labor market being hit by the 0.6-percent GDP contraction in the final quarter of 2012 were largely unfounded, the Nuremberg-based Federal Employment Agency (BA) reported Thursday. It said that in unadjusted terms there was only a slight monthly rise in the number of unemployed people in the country in February - 18,000 more than in the previous month and totaling 3.156 million. \"The German labor market seems to have been largely unfazed by weak economic development in recent months,\" BA chief Frank-Jürgen Weise told reporters. \"The small rise in unemployment is attributable to purely seasonal factors.\" Optimistic outlook Adjusted for seasonal peculiarities, the number of jobless people even dropped by 3,000 month-on-month, and by 46,000 when compared to levels recorded in February 2012.