German unemployment at lowest since 1990 reunification

Germany's unemployment rate dipped to 5.4 percent in October as the buoyant labor market in Europe's biggest economy benefited from a traditional autumn increase in hiring, official data showed Thursday.

The Federal Labor Agency said the number of people registered as unemployed stood at 2.389 million last month — the first time the figure has dropped below 2.4 million since 1990, when Germany was reunited. There were 60,000 fewer people out of work than in September and 151,000 fewer than a year earlier. The unadjusted jobless rate slipped from 5.5 percent the previous month.

In seasonally adjusted terms, the unemployment rate was steady at 5.6 percent and the number of people out of work was 11,000 lower than in September, roughly in line with economists' forecast of a 10,000 drop.