Weak Economy Contributes to Rise in Joblessness
The number of unemployed in Germany rose to 5.216 million in February, thereby exceeding the postwar high from January. This was 177,000 more than in January, and 575,000 more than a year ago, announced the Federal Employment Agency (BA) on Tuesday. In the monthly comparison, the unemployment rate rose 0.5 points to 12.6 percent.
The increase is largely due to the fact that former welfare recipients are now registered as unemployed, said BA head Frank-Jürgen Weise. Besides that, he added, the start of winter and the persistently weak economy also contributed to the rise.
Clement: “Couldn’t Have Had More Warnings”
According to economics minister Wolfgang Clement (SPD), the first-time inclusion of employable welfare recipients among the registered unemployed, which started in December, led to a statistical increase of 360,000 jobless. “Without Hartz IV, unemployment would be around 4.85 million, or approximately what it was in January-February 1998,” Clement said on Tuesday in Berlin. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) called the number “depressing.”
The economics minister is counting on a pronounced drop in unemployment in March. The implementation of the Hartz reforms needs time, he said, and no one should expect miracles in two months. At the same time, Clement conceded that, even after the Hartz IV effect was taken into account, unemployment in February was the highest it has been since 1998. “The country couldn’t have had more warnings.” The government expects the number of jobless to rise by 50,000 in the 2005 yearly average. But by the end of 2005, the number of unemployed should be 200,000 lower than in 2004. Certainly not every part of that prognosis is tenable, said Clement.
January Figures Adjusted Upwards
The Federal Employment Agency (BA) retroactively increased the January unemployment figures by 2,000 to 5.039 million. In January, the five-million mark was exceeded for the first time since the founding of the Federal Republic.
Even after adjustments for seasonal effects, there was still a 161,000 increase in unemployment from January to February, up to 4.875 million, as the BA reported. The rate increased from 11.4 to 11.7 percent, but, according to the BA, this was primarily due to the Hartz IV effect and the unusually cold February weather. The statistical procedures for seasonal adjustments were not able to reflect either of these things. According to the BA, the state of the economy might have been responsible for a 10,000-20,000 increase in unemployment.
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