Germany is in a jobs boom. The number of people working in Europe's largest economy in 2017 has never been as high.

Despite an ageing population, 600,000 more people were in work than in 2016, mainly thanks to a rise in immigration.

The data was released by the Federal Office of Statistics who reported that it was the twelfth increase in a row.

The labour force has grown in the service sector, which accounts for three-quarters of workers, as well as in manufacturing and construction. On the other hand, it fell slightly by 0.3% in the agricultural sector.

The number of social security contributors has increased while the number of low-income workers has decreased.

In November, the unemployment rate in Germany also reached a new low since Reunification between the East and West in 1990, with just 5.3% of the active population out of work.