The weak economy triggered an increase in German unemployment in December for the first time in six years. Unemployment in the country has increased more than expected in the last month of the year, according to official data released on Friday. This heightens concerns that weakness in the manufacturing sector is damaging the labor market in the European largest economy.

Data from the Federal Labor Office show that the number of unemployed rose by 8,000 to 2.227 million people in December. In comparison, analysts expected growth of the unemployment rate of up to 2.000 million people.

On the other hand, the unemployment rate has remained stable at 5.0%, just above the record low of 4.9% reached earlier this year.

“The weak economic cycle leaves visible traces”, said the Chairman of the German Federal Employment Agency, Detlef Scheele. “Although the labor market remains largely stable at the end of the year, there are signs of economic weakness”, admitted he.

In November, the number of unemployed dropped to 2.180 million, the lowest level since the union, and by 6,000 less than a year ago. The unemployment rate is 4.8%. The decrease is largely due to the fact that the number of long-term unemployed has decreased.

The demand for workers also continues to decline significantly. The index of the Federal Employment Agency, which is based on current and actual job applications from companies, has been steadily declining since March 2018. This also happened in December 2019: In comparison with the previous month, the so-called BA-X decreased by five points to 223 points – minus 31 points compared to the previous month.