German unemployment falls more than forecast

BERLIN / FRANKFURT - German unemployment declined more than economists forecast in September, suggesting the labor market in Europe's largest economy is weathering the region's worsening debt crisis.

The number of people out of work fell a seasonally adjusted 26,000 to 2.92 million, the Nuremberg-based Federal Labor Agency said on Thursday. That's the biggest drop since April. Economists had forecast a decline of 8,000, the median of 24 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey showed. The adjusted jobless rate slipped to 6.9 percent from 7 percent in the previous month.

Germany's unemployment has reached the lowest level since the country's reunification two decades ago after increasing global export demand prompted companies to step up spending and hiring. That growth momentum has been sapped by a possible recession in the United States and the threat of a renewed financial crisis that could be triggered by a sovereign default in Greece.