German jobless rate slides to 5.1 percent in May

BERLIN (AP) - Germany's unemployment rate slid to 5.1 percent in May as the labor market benefited from a traditional spring pickup and the country's robust economic performance.

The Federal Labor Agency said Wednesday that the unadjusted jobless rate - the headline figure in Germany - was down from 5.3 percent in April, with 2.315 million people registered as unemployed. That is 68,000 fewer than the previous month, and 182,000 lower than a year earlier.

In seasonally adjusted terms, the unemployment rate dipped to 5.2 from 5.3 percent, with 11,000 fewer people out of work than in April. That was marginally better than economists' forecast that the rate would remain static.

The German economy, Europe's biggest, has grown for 15 consecutive quarters.