Europe’s largest economy suffered its worst slump on record in the second quarter, as the coronavirus pandemic took a heavy toll on exports and consumer spending.
With the exception of government spending, all areas of the German economyincluding exports, imports, investment and household spending, suffered sharp falls.
The drop wiped out nearly a decade of growth and was “even worse than expected,” according to Berenberg economist Florian Hense.
Yet despite the loss of output, Germany’s unemployment rate rose to just 4.2%, from 3.8% at the end of March, according to EU data published Thursday. That translates into the loss of 203,000 jobs, taking total unemployment in Germany to 1.86 million. EU unemployment stood at 7.1% in June, up from 6.5% in March.
It’s a far cry from America’s 11% jobless rate. Like Germany, the US economy recorded its worst drop on record between April and June, falling by 9.5%, or almost 33% at an annualized rate.
Despite adding 7.4 million jobs through May and June, the United States remains down nearly 12 million jobs since February,according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. US unemployment stood at 17.8 million in June. Jobless claims rose for the second week in a row last week, in a sign that America’s recovery may be stalling.
