Data provided by the Federal Employment Agency (FEA) showed that in July, the unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) remained unchanged at 6% (the highest value since May 2021), confirming economists' forecasts.
Meanwhile, the number of unemployed grew by 18 thousand, to 2.802 million people, after an increase of 19 thousand in June. Consensus estimates suggested an increase of 15 thousand. In annual terms, the number of unemployed rose by 192 thousand in July.
The report also showed that in July underemployment increased by 1,000 month-on-month and 139,000 year-on-year on a seasonally adjusted basis to stand at 3,583,000.
“Weak economic developments are weighing on the labor market. At the start of the summer break, both unemployment and underemployment rose more than usual,” said Daniel Terzenbach, who’s in charge of regions at the Federal Labor Agency.