Germany's Unemployment Rate Drops Slightly

Unemployment in October remained high in Germany, with just under four million jobless people and an unemployment rate of 9.4 percent. At least 3,929,800 Germans were out of work last month according to figures released on Thursday by the Federal Labor Office. Though there were 12,900 fewer jobless than in September, there were still 204,300 more unemployed than during the same period last year, when the unemployment rate hovered at 9 percent.

Despite the slight improvement over last month, the high unemployment rate will continue to burden Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who nearly lost the election in September over Germany's stagnant economy. Federal Economics and Labor Minister Wolfgang Clement of the Social Democrats said the crisis in the labor market "remains serious."