Unemployment rate in Germany falls in March

The Federal Labor Office said Germany's unemployment rate fell by 8,000 to 2.745 million during the month of March, keeping the unemployment rate unchanged from the previous month at 6.0% despite measures to shut down the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

About 2.85 million employees were in shortened working hours in January under a government scheme designed to avoid mass layoffs during the downturn by offering subsidies to companies to keep workers on the payroll. "We saw a remarkable recovery in the spring in March, despite the increase in Coronavirus infections and restrictions imposed on some areas of the economy," said Detlev Shell, head of the Labor Office. "In general, the labor market is still showing signs of the year-long crisis."