German Unemployment Falls More Than Forecast, Inflation At 6-month High

Germany's unemployment declined more-than-expected in July and the jobless rate held steady at the lowest level since reunification, despite heightened uncertainty from "Brexit".

Separate official data showed that consumer prices increased for a third straight month in July and at the fastest pace in six months. Both headline inflation and the EU measure rose to 0.4 percent.

The number of people out of work fell by 7,000 from the previous month to 2.68 million in July, the Federal Labor Agency said Thursday. Economists had forecast a decrease of 4,000.

The jobless rate held steady at 6.1 percent in July as economists had expected. This was the lowest since the German reunification.

The President of the Federal Labor Agency Frank-Juergen Weise said the labor market continued to develop positively.

According to the labor force survey from Destatis, the unemployment rate remained stable in June, after falling slightly in the previous month.

The jobless rate came in at adjusted 4.2 percent in June, the same rate as in June. In the corresponding month last year, the unemployment rate was 4.7 percent.

The number of unemployed people decreased to 1.80 million in June from 1.81 million in the preceding month. A year ago, the jobless figure totaled 1.95 million.

The employment rate also remained unchanged at 65.7 percent in June.

The Purchasing Managers' survey from Markit showed that German companies continued to hire new staff in order to increase capacity in July. Job creation increased for the 33rd consecutive month. Service providers reported a particularly strong rise in employment.

Germany's private sector activity expanded at the fastest pace in seven months in July, reflecting uninterrupted growth even after Britons voted to exit the European Union.