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Sunday, May. 20, 2012 |  Syndicate content

Germany defies European trend

Page last updated at 04:13 GMT, Wednesday, January 4, 2012 - 09:13 EST

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Sydney Morning Herald:

THE German economy remained mostly immune to the malaise afflicting the rest of the euro zone in December, with data showing that unemployment fell slightly during the month and that the average number of jobless people for the full year was the lowest in two decades.

With nearly half a million job openings, Germany appears likely to continue to resist the downward pull of the sovereign debt crisis, at least for several months. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 6.8 per cent in December from 6.9 per cent in November.

The jobless figures came after several recent indicators that have been better than expected, helping to drive increases in European stock indices. But economists question whether Germany, which has Europe's largest economy, can remain unaffected by the recession spreading across the rest of the continent.
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The German jobless rate contrasts with that of the euro area as a whole, at more than 10 per cent.

Read the whole story: Sydney Morning Herald

Watch from Reuters:

Greece-World News