German unemployment rises in July as Ukrainian refugees look for work

BERLIN (Reuters) – German unemployment rose more than expected in July, Labour Office figures showed on Friday, as Ukrainian refugees looking for work in Germany are being registered by officials.

The Federal Labour Office said the number of people out of work grew by 48,000 in seasonally adjusted terms to 2.463 million.

Analysts polled by Reuters had on average expected an increase of 15,000.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose to 5.4%.

“Unemployment and underemployment rose more sharply in July than is usual for the time of year. However, this is due to the registration of Ukrainian refugees,” said Daniel Terzenbach, head of the regions at the Labour Office.

The labour market in general is stable, he added.

(Reporting by Miranda Murray, editing by Rachel More)