German unemployment still largely steady despite lockdown

Official data are showing that German unemployment held more or less steady in February despite the impact of lockdown measures. Extensive use of a short-term salary support program is still keeping the figures in check. The Federal Labor Agency said Tuesday that the unadjusted jobless rate, the headline figure in Germany, was unchanged from January at 6.3%. In seasonally adjusted terms, unemployment remained at 6%, though 9,000 more people were out of work than in January. That was the first, albeit relatively modest, increase in seasonally adjusted unemployment in February since 2014.