German unemployment was unchanged in May when positive seasonal factors were removed, against economists' expectations and government hopes for a decline, a source familiar with the data told Reuters on Monday. "It's more or less zero," the source said, referring to the change in the seasonally adjusted jobless total, that fell for the first time in more than a year in April to 4.889 million. A Reuters poll of 32 economists had predicted a 10,000 fall, with forecasts ranging from a 50,000 drop to a rise of 25,000. The politically sensitive unadjusted total fell by 161,000 to 4.807 million in line with the normal May pattern, the source said.
Germany will hold a general election in September, a year earlier than planned, with record high unemployment the country's number one concern.