Ukrainian refugees push up German jobless rate

Germany’s unemployment rate rose for the first time in two years in June, figures published Thursday showed, as refugees from the war in Ukraine swelled the pool of job seekers.

The indicator rose to 5.3 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis, up from five per cent in May, according to the BA federal labour agency.

Overall the number of unemployed rose by 133,000, also on a seasonally adjusted basis. The sharp increase was due to the “extensive registration of Ukrainian refugees at job centres”, the BA said in a statement.

People fleeing the conflict were now “visible” in employment statistics, BA chief, Detlef Scheele said in a statement. Over five million Ukrainians have been registered as refugees in Europe according to the UNHCR, with hundreds of thousands finding their way to Germany.