The number of Germans out of work rose to a new post-war record of over 5.2 million in February.
Germany's federal labour office said today that the country's unadjusted jobless total pushed up to 5.216 million last month from 5.037 million in January.
That is the highest total since the early 1930s and brings the unadjusted employment rate to 12.6 per cent. On an adjusted basis, unemployment increased by 161,000 versus the prior month to 4.875 million - almost double the rise forecast by economists.
The figures increase pressure on Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government to unveil new measures to combat rising unemployment He came into office in 1998 vowing to halve unemployment.
A surprise defeat for his Social Democrats in an election in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein earlier this month has the party arguing about how to best attack the country's jobless problem.
The rise in February unemployment was principally due to the government's "Hartz IV" labour market reforms, which came into effect at the start of the year. Economists expect the reforms to eventually push more Germans back into the labour force, but there is disagreement on when that will happen.
