Economy | 21.08.2008
German Employment Rate Hits Highpoint
For only the second time since German reunification, the number of employed people in Germany has crossed the 40 million mark.
In the second quarter of 2008, 40.2 million were registered as being in employment, despite the relative economic lull. However, the increase of about 1.4 percent in comparison to the same time last year was slightly lower than the first quarter's increase of 1.6 percent, the Federal Statistics Office said Thursday.
Service, manufacturing up
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The construction sector saw a drop in jobs
Service sector jobs including sales, catering and real estate positions saw the largest increase at 1.5 percent. The manufacturing and agriculture sectors experienced similar jumps.
The number of self-employed remained almost stable, rising by just 0.1 percent to reach a total of 4.5 million.
Construction, however, has been on a decline since the end of last year and this quarter proved no exception.
At the same time, the German economy underwent an economic slowdown. A first quarter boom of 1.2 percent over last year dropped to just 0.5 percent in the April to June quarter.
