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Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - The number of unemployed in North Rhine-Westphalia fell slightly towards the end of 2020.
On December 16, 734,384 people were registered as unemployed in the most populous federal state, 3,736 less than a month earlier, as the regional directorate of North Rhine-Westphalia of the Federal Employment Agency announced on Tuesday.
The possible consequences of the restrictions on corona protection imposed before Christmas are not yet recorded by the unemployment statistics.
The unemployment rate fell in December compared to November by 0.1 percentage points to now 7.5 percent.
It was 1.1 points above the previous year.
"Unemployment has only fallen slightly, but on the other hand it is only the fifth time since 1980 that the number of people registered as unemployed has fallen in December," said the head of the regional directorate, Torsten Withake.
"This shows how resilient our economy is and gives good hope for the time after the containment measures."
The effects of the pandemic remained clearly visible, said Withake.
The increase in unemployment compared to the previous year by a total of 110 025 registered unemployed is the clearest sign.
Nevertheless, society and the economy have come through the pandemic relatively lightly.
With the labor market policy instrument of short-time work, up to 1.2 million jobs were secured and unemployment prevented to the same extent.
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What effects the hard lockdown will have on the labor market cannot yet be read from the current figures, said Withake.
However, the labor market expert does not expect a comparable increase in unemployment as in April 2020. However, it is important that the usual spring revival in the labor market will not have any major negative effects from the pandemic.