Unemployment in Germany increased in May in adjusted terms, said German Federal Labor Agency on Wednesday, referring to mild winter effects.
The number of people out of job in the Europe's largest economy climbed by 24,000 to 2.91 million when seasonally adjusted, according to the Nuremberg-based office.
This was the first increase in six months, and surprised economists who expected the jobless to decline by 15,000. In unadjusted terms, unemployment decreased by 61,000 to 2.88 million people, a drop weaker than in previous springs.
Unemployment rate remained steady at 6.7 percent.
Federal Labor Agency attributed the weak spring recovery in labor market to weather conditions, as fewer jobs were lost in the past mild winter.
"Overall, the labor market is doing well," said Frank-J. Weise, chief of the labor agency.
Also on Wednesday, German Federal Statistical Office said adjusted jobless rate based on concept of International Labor Organization (ILO) increased slightly to 5.2 percent in April from 5.1 percent in March, when the average unemployment rate of euro zone stood at 11.8 percent.
Earlier survey by market research institute GfK showed that stable labor market, as well as high income expectation and moderate inflation in Germany made Germans more willing to open their wallet, and kept their confidence in economic outlook at high level.
German gross domestic product increased by 0.8 percent in the first quarter, leading the recovery of European economy. The growth was solely contributed by domestic demand, such as private consumption and government spending, and helped guarantee an employment of 41.7 million people.
GfK forecast private consumption to increase by 1.5 percent in 2014 and continue to support the economic expansion in Germany.