FRANKFURT--German jobless claims dropped in May and the number of registered vacancies rose, making Germany's labor market the most vibrant in the eurozone.
The BA labor agency said Tuesday that jobless claims in May were down 6,000 from April when taking account of seasonal swings, their eighth consecutive fall. The decline was smaller than expected, but revised data for April show a sharper fall in claims than previously reported.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a drop of 10,000 in May.
In yet another sign of a buzzing jobs market, the number of registered vacancies hit 557,000 jobs in May, up 75,000 from a year ago. "It is not compulsory in Germany to register vacancies and it can therefore be assumed that the actual figures is about twice as high," said Ralf Beckmann, an economist at the BA.
Germany's adjusted jobless rate remained at a record low of 6.4%, in line with expectations and underpinned by robust economic growth in Europe's largest economy.
