BERLIN (Reuters) -The number of people out of work in Germany rose less than expected in November, labour office figures showed on Friday, underscoring a sluggish recovery and persistent lack of momentum in the job market.
In seasonally adjusted terms, the jobless figure rose by 1,000 to 2.973 million, while analysts and economists had predicted an increase by 5,000 in a Reuters poll.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was unchanged from 6.3% a month earlier, in line with the forecast.
The economy ministry last month slightly raised its economic growth projection for this year to 0.2% from the stagnation foreseen previously, and forecast 1.3% growth next year.
Labour office head Andrea Nahles said the number of people in employment was stagnating and demand for labour remained subdued.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has promised to haul Germany out of the downturn with a sharp increase in infrastructure and defence spending, but those measures are taking longer than expected to translate into better conditions on the ground.
(Writing by Friederike Heine, Editing by Miranda Murray)