STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Thursday, 29 March 2012

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18. German Jobless Fell in March as Economy Showed Resilience

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-29/german-jobless-fell-in-march-as-economy-showed-resilience.html

German unemployment fell more than forecast in March, adding to evidence that growth in Europe’s biggest economy is gaining traction as the debt crisis recedes.

The number of people out of work fell a seasonally adjusted 18,000 to 2.84 million, the Nuremberg-based Federal Labor Agency said today. Economists forecast a decline of 10,000, the median of 36 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey showed. The adjusted jobless rate slipped to 6.7 percent, a two-decade low.

“Hiring hasn’t halted this quarter after the fourth- quarter contraction,” said Thomas Costerg, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank in London. It “says a lot about the underlying strength of the German economy.” Unemployment will continue to decline in coming months as the pace of economic growth accelerates, he said.

Falling joblessness underscores Germany’s resilience in the face of the debt crisis that Chancellor Angela Merkel says may have peaked. While the 17-member euro-region economy will shrink 0.3 percent in 2012, Germany’s economy will grow 0.6 percent, the European Commission forecast. Investor confidence is at its highest in 21 months and business confidence at an 8-month high.