UK jobless total falls to 2.48m

Germany's unemployment rate fell in June thanks to seasonal effects and brighter prospects in Europe's biggest economy, official figures showed Wednesday.The federal labour office said that 7.5 percent of the workforce were out of work in June, down from 7.7 percent in May, while the total number of unemployed fell 88.000 to 3.15 million.Compared to June 2009, the total was down 257,000, and Carsten Brzeski, economist at ING Belgium, said that unemployment now stood at its lowest level since December 2008.

UK unemployment fell by 36,000 in the three months to the end of March to 2.46 million, official figures show.

The unemployment rate fell from 9.0% to 8.6% in November, however that is not an accurate representation of employment in the USA. The news is good, but very mildly good, while a decrease in the unemployment rate by 40 basis points would lead you to believe the improvement was dramatic. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 120,000 which is about the number needed to keep up with population growth each month. Employment continued to trend up in retail trade, leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and health care. Government employment continued to trend down.

The slow recovery from the massive credit crisis caused recession remains underway. Nonfarm payroll employment declined 36,000 in February, and the unemployment rate held at 9.7%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment fell in construction and information, while temporary help services added jobs. Severe winter weather in parts of the country may have affected, negatively, payroll employment and hours.