German unemployment declined in August and manufacturing gained momentum, signaling that Europe’s largest economy will continue growing, Bloomberg reported. Joblessness fell a seasonally-adjusted 7,000 to 2.79 million, the Federal Labor Agency in Nuremberg said on Tuesday, and the unemployment rate remained at 6.4%. A Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing rose to 53.2 from 51.8 in July, well above the 50 level that indicates expansion. German is poised for “solid” growth, supported by both external and domestic demand, the Bundesbank predicted on Aug. 17. Business confidence has improved in the past two months even as trade risks from China’s economic slowdown mount. “The German labor market is very stable and robust,” said Johannes Gareis, an economist at Natixis SA in Frankfurt. “Amid a global economy weakened by a trailing dynamic in China, domestic consumption is more important than ever, and this is where the labor market acts as a crutch for the economy.” Economists had predicted a drop in unemployment of 4,000. The jobless rate in the 19-nation eurozone unexpectedly slid to 10.9% in July, the lowest reading since February 2012.
