BERLIN (AP) Germany's unemployment rate was unchanged in November at 6.5 percent in a sign the labor market as little room to improve any further.
The Federal Labor Office said Thursday that 5,000 more people were out of work in November in Europe's largest economy. That brought the total number of jobless to 2.81 million but was not enough to affect the unemployment rate.
When adjusted for seasonal factors, 10,000 more were out of work and the rate remained unchanged at 6.9 percent for the third month in a row.
ING economist Carsten Brzeski says the figures suggest the unemployment rate has hit a bottom. That could help push up wages and fuel private spending.
He says that "for the time being, the German labor market will remain an important growth driver."
