German Unemployment Rate Steady at 6.8% Official Data

Germany's unemployment rate was steady in January, as the labor market continues to hold up thanks to the improving economic outlook, official data showed on Thursday.

The number of people registered as unemployed in Europe's top economy fell by 28,0000 in seasonally adjusted terms this month, the Federal Labor Office said in a statement.

Analysts had been projecting a much smaller decline of just 5,000.

The unemployment rate, which measures the number of people looking for work relative to the total of people in jobs or unemployed, was unchanged at 6.8 percent in seasonally-adjusted terms in January, the Federal Labor Office said.

"The labor market is continuing to develop positively," the office said.

By contrast, in raw or unadjusted terms, the German jobless total increased by 263,018 to 3.136 million and the unadjusted jobless rate jumped to 7.3 percent in January from 6.7 percent in December, the office calculated.

But that was solely due to the usual winter break, the office insisted.