German unemployment drops below 3m

The Financial Times ^ | October 28 2010 | Quentin Peel

[Berlin_Freeper]

Unemployment in Germany fell below 3m in October for the first time in 18 years, according to unadjusted figures released by the federal labour office.

The government in Berlin greeted the news with delight and saw it as confirmation that its measures to revive the economy from last year’s recession had been timely and effective.

Seasonally adjusted jobless figures showed rather less improvement, with a decline of just 3,000 in registered unemployed for a total figure of 3.153m, or 7.5 per cent of the labour force.

The figures were leaked on Wednesday, a day early, by Ursula von der Leyen, the labour minister, to coincide with the first anniversary in office of the centre-right coalition headed by Angela Merkel, German chancellor.

Breaching the 3m mark was “a great success for the people, the wage partners, Merkel government and the federal labour office”, Ms von der Leyen said ahead of the official publication of the figures.

[Berlin_Freeper]

Merkel Tells Obama Germany Won’t Heed Calls to Focus on Growth
June 22, 2010
Chancellor Angela Merkel championed German export strength as “the right thing” for her country, spurning President Barack Obama’s call to boost private spending as both leaders prepare for Group of 20 talks.

Merkel, addressing a business audience in Berlin today, said she told Obama in a phone call that cutting government debt is “absolutely important for us,” exposing a second point of contention ahead of the June 26-27 G-20 summit in Canada.

Reducing the budget deficit by 10 billion euros ($12 billion) per year “won’t put a brake on the world’s economic growth,” Merkel said, relating what she told Obama yesterday. Germans are more likely to spend money if they feel the government “is taking precautions” to ensure solid finances, she said.

[central_va]

The krauts are catching on how to lower unemployment without starting a global war. Bravo.

[antiRepublicrat]

I’m really NOT missing Schroeder. :)

[November 2010]

Do you know if Germany actually reduced spending? I know Merkel has been very sensible.

[earlJam]

I don’t know why Republicans have not hung Germany around the neck of Obama in election ads.

“Germany has gotten tough on government spending and their economy is recovering. Obama has not and look at the US.”

[Berlin_Freeper]

(BBC) Berlin will cut the budget deficit by a record 80bn euros ($96bn; £66bn) by 2014.

[Berlin_Freeper]

Seriously.

[ex-snook]

I bet Germany MANUFACTURES products and doesn’t export their product factories to other countries and then import those products and sell them in their malls.

[traderrob6]

Blast from the past...

http://exposingtheleft.blogspot.com/2006/02/hillary-for-prez-says-ousted-german.html

[Cardhu]

“In his new book, Were You Born on the Wrong Continent?, Thomas Geoghegan makes a strong case that European social democracies — particularly Germany — have some lessons and models that might make life a lot more livable. Germans have six weeks of federally mandated vacation, free university tuition, and nursing care. But you’ve heard the arguments for years about how those wussy Europeans can’t compete in a global economy. You’ve heard that so many times, you might believe it. But like so many things, the media repeats endlessly, it’s just not true.

According to Geoghegan, “Since 2003, it’s not China but Germany, that colossus of European socialism, that has either led the world in export sales or at least been tied for first. Even as we in the United States fall more deeply into the clutches of our foreign creditors — China foremost among them — Germany has somehow managed to create a high-wage, unionized economy without shipping all its jobs abroad or creating a massive trade deficit, or any trade deficit at all. And even as the Germans outsell the United States, they manage to take six weeks of vacation every year. They’re beating us with one hand tied behind their back.”

[Niuhuru]

Quite a feat I daresay and I am sure a relief to Poland.

[bwc2221]

We can use a strong conservative woman heading our country too. And, I can think of one who is a lot better looking than Angela Merkel.

[elpadre]

is Germany plagued with illegal aliens as we are??

I wonder what our rate of unemployment would be if it were not for the invasion of illegals from Mexico?? Or can we say Mexico is at war with those gringo Americans and has successfully invaded and the Americans have rolled over and played dead???

[wolf78]

Germans have six weeks of federally mandated vacation

The law guarantees four weeks, but in number of sectors there are agreements between unions and employers with five or even six weeks.

...free university tuition...

Education is a state issue in Germany. I.e. some have free tuition, some don't. But fees are reasonable in any case.

...high-wage...

Not all of Germany is high-wage. As there is no minimum wage, unskilled workers are often worse off than in the US and have to rely on (some) government support, even though they work 40 or 50 or more hours a week

... unionized economy...

German unions are relatively reasonable. They don't want to kill the host. E.g. when economy is bad, German unions often forgo wage hikes in exchange for employment guarantees.

They’re beating us with one hand tied behind their back.

The problem with the US is that large parts of the economy are not productive. That in the US political punditry and investment bubble generation are considered viable sectors of the economy.

[UCFRoadWarrior]

German manufacturing output is the same as the USA...and Germany has 1/4 the population and 1/25 of the land area.

While the US ships jobs to Communist China, Germany has actually been creating jobs...real jobs in manufacturing and technology.

[UCFRoadWarrior]

I bet Germany MANUFACTURES products and doesn’t export their product factories to other countries and then import those products and sell them in their malls

---

Umm....YES, that is right. Not everything made in Germany has “Made in China” on it

Not only ObamaPhiles need to pay attention....but also the Liberal Free Trade Globalists in both parties.

[SomeCallMeTim]

A year or so ago, Obama was blowing money we don’t have on a politically motivated “stimulus” package... while Merkel had Germany reigning in spending.... It was 180 degrees opposite of what the USA was doing...

I made a mental note to see how it turns out for both of us... Looks like we have our answer.

[TopQuark]

" catching on how to lower unemployment without starting a global war. "

This is not new: Hitler had full employment when we has the Great Depression.