Germany's unadjusted jobless rate fell to 9.5 per cent in April from 9.8 per cent the previous month, the German government said today.
But the decline was smaller than expected as growth continued to flag in Europe's biggest economy. A year ago, the unemployment rate dropped 0.8 percentage points in April from March.
The total number of people out of work fell to 3.867 million in April from 3.99 million people who were unemployed in March. April's figure was down 118,500 from the same month last year.
German Chancellor Mr Gerhard Schroeder has pledged to bring the number of jobless to below 3.5 million before the next national election in 2002 and below 3 million by 2005.
Mr Ernst Welteke, the president of Germany's Bundesbank, said it is up to the nation's politicians to take steps to boost growth.
"The figures were anything but pleasing," he said in Frankfurt. "But now predominantly economic policy and structural reform are required to contribute to higher potential growth in Germany."
Asked whether the government forecast of 2 per cent growth this year is endangered, Mr Welteke said "there's no need for even a small question mark."
AP