German Monthly Jobless Numbers Rise

The number of jobless in Germany rose in October, data released Wednesday showed, complicating the government's already tough task of trying to draft a budget that will respect European Union guidelines. In what was the ninth consecutive monthly rise, the ranks of the unemployed swelled by a seasonally-adjusted 12,000 to 4.457 million people from September, according to the Federal Labor Agency. While analysts had been expecting worse -- an adjusted rise of 15,000-20,000 people -- a Labor Agency official said that no drastic improvement in the number of jobless would be likely next year. Indeed, in an ominous warning last month to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, the office said that the uncorrected jobless number could break through the symbolic five-million barrier this winter. Unemployment here has been increasing steadily since the beginning of the year, with 160,000 more people without jobs now than in January.