(Reuters) – It’s too early to say the economic crisis in Germany has passed because considerable risks to the recovery remain, the head of the Federal Labour Office, Frank-Juergen Weise, was quoted as saying on Saturday. Weise told German newspaper Rheinpfalz am Sonntag that while developments on the labor market were better than expected, he was worried “the economic crisis is being declared over,” he said in excerpts from an article due to appear on Sunday.
“There are still major uncertainties,” Weise said.
Adjusted for seasonal swings, unemployment fell for a 12th straight month in June to its lowest level since December 2008. However, concerns about the outlook for 2011 cast some doubt over whether the jobless total could fall much further.
The German economy suffered easily its biggest postwar recession in 2009, shrinking by some five percent. Since then, an export-led recovery has enabled the country to make up a substantial portion of the ground lost in the slump.
Many analysts believe Europe’s largest economy probably grew by at least one percent in the second quarter, accelerating from 0.2 percent in the January-March period. However, leading indicators suggest the recovery may slow in the months ahead.
(Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)